
Book 3 ^6 . 
Copyright^? 

copssaaat deposie 



A Lieutenant of Cavalry 
in Lee's Army 



BY 



G. W. BEALE 



mmmmmm 




BOSTON 

THE GORHAM PRESS 

MCMXVIII 



Copyright, 1918, by .G. W. Beale 



All Rights Reserved 



MADE IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 
Tub Gorham Pebss. Boston, U. S. A. ^ 

!, 

JUN27I9I8 ^^'' 

:QCi.A4994(53 ' ^j_^^' nX 



FOREWORD 

The title of this book is a correct one, except as to the first 
and second chapters, which relate to events which preceded the 
date of General R. E. Lee's assumption of the command of the 
Army of Northern Virginia in June, 1862. These events were 
preliminary to the formation of that army and disciplinary for 
its arduous and exciting duties. The narrative of them may 
well serve as an introduction to the account that follows of 
service on a larger scale under "Job" Stuart and Hampton. 

G. W. Beale. 



CONTENTS 



Chapter. Page. 

I Early Engagements with Gunboats on the 

Potomac 9 

II Too Late to Take Part in Manassas Battle i6 

III The Federal Occupation of Fredericksburg 

in April, 1 862 20 

IV Stuart's Dash Around McClellan's Army on 

the Chickahominy 24 

V Stuart's Cavalry in the Battle Before Rich- 
mond 33 

VI Dead and Wounded Lay in Heaps at Man- 
assas 40 

VII The Maryland Campaign 44 

VIII Engagements at Mountsville, Aldie, and 

Union 52 

IX Watching the Enemy's Approach at Port 
Royal and Capturing a Squadron at 

Leedstown 5^ 

X The Battle of Fredericksburg 63 

XI Cavalry Operations Under W. H. F. Lee 

during the Battle at Chancellorsville... . 68 
XII A Great Federal Raid in 1863 and How it 

was Defeated 75 

XIII Battle of Brandy Station 80 

XIV Battle of Brandy Station (Continued) 88 

XV Cavalry Engagements at Middleburg and 

Upperville, June 17 to 21, 1863 lOO 

XVI How the Repulse of the Federal Cavalry at 
Brandy Station Affected General Milroy 

at Winchester 106 

XVII General Stuart's Gettysburg Raid no 

XVIII After Gettysburg in '63 118 

XIX Engagement at Culpeper Courthouse, Sept. 

13, 1863 124 

XX Second Cavalry Fight at Brandy Station. . . 128 
5 



Contents 



Chapter. Page. 

XXI The Kilpatrick— Dahlgren Raid: Its Pre- 
liminaries and Sequels 133 

XXII Charging Infantry Along With a Georgia 

Brigade on the Spottsylvania Lines. ... 142 

XXIII Watching Grant's Army on Flank Move- 

ment 1 46 

XXIV Cavalry Battle at Ashland 152 

XXV Cavalry Operations in Hanover County. . . 157 

XXVI Battle of Nance's Shop June 24, 1864 . 161 

XXVII Battle at White's Tavern in Charles City 

County 166 

XXVIII Wilson's Raid 174 

XXIX The Battle at Reams Station 181 

XXX Cavalry Battle on the Boydton Plank Road, 

Oct. 27, 1864 188 

XXXI General Wade Hampton and His Fine 
Management of a Raid After Cattle in 

September, 1864 192 

XXXII Recollections of the Battle of Hatcher's Run, 

Feb. 6, 1865 197 

XXXIII Experiences in a Confederate Hospital .... 201 

XXXIV The Closing Weeks Under the Stars and 

Bars 206 

XXXV How Fun Follows Fighting 210 

XXXVI General W. H. F. Lee 220 

XXXVII A Narrow Escape From the Squadron 
Which was on the Track of the Assas- 
sin Booth and Succeeded in his Capture 
and Death 226 



A LIEUTENANT OF CAVALRY IN LEE'S ARMY 



A Lieutenant of Cavalry in 
Lee's Army 

CHAPTER I 

EARLY ENGAGEMENTS WITH GUNBOATS ON THE POTOMAC 

TN June, 1 86 1, there had been assembled in the vicinity of 
-*■ Mathias Point, on the Potomac, a regiment or more of in- 
fantry and several companies of cavalry. Two of the latter 
from Westmoreland and Lancaster Counties, and one of the 
former — the "Sparta Grays," of Caroline County — were under 
the immediate command of Major Robert Mayo, and the whole 
force commanded by Brigadier-General Daniel Ruggles, an 
ex-officer of the United States Army, who had resigned his com- 
mission and offered his sword to the Confederacy. 

A number of gunboats and armed cutters and the more for- 
midable ship Pawnee were patrolling the river and throwing 
shot and shells whenever and wherever any sign of the presence 
of the Confederates could be gained. The remarkable thing 
about this cannonading for two months or more was the 
enormous expenditure of ammunition without killing or wound- 
ing a single man on the Southern side. Picket stations were 
established along the shore for miles, and both infantry and 
cavalry videttes kept a sharp lookout for any attempt to effect 
a landing by Federal soldiers or marines, and the troops in the 
several camps were held in constant readiness to meet such an 
attempt. 

On the early morning of June 27, while Henry Porter and 
another man of the Westmoreland Cavalry, were on watch at 
the picket station nearest the point, they were suddenly startled 
by the approach in the darkness of a small body of Yankees, who 
had landed under cover of the night and advanced so noiselessly 
as not to be heard until within a few feet of the men on watch. 
Porter and his companion discharged their guns in time to give 

9 



lO A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

the alarm to the other pickets in their rear, but not in time to 
mount their own horses» These fell into the enemies' hands and 
were gotten aboard of a tender that had anchored nearby in 
the river during the night. 

The landing and surprise of the pickets were promptly re- 
ported to General Ruggles and Major Mayo, and their respec- 
tive camps were quickly astir with preparation for action. The 
Ruggles's camp was higher up the river, and separated from 
Mayo's three companies by a depression, or valley, in the land, 
that terminated near the river shore in a morass and pond. On 
the lower side of this marshy valley the ground was densely 
covered with pine woods, admitting the close approach to the 
river by Mayo's companies without detection or danger. In 
consequence, the "Sparta Grays" and the Westmoreland Cav- 
alry, under Captain Saunders and Lieutenant R. L. T. Beale, 
were put into motion, and the cavalry company, having been 
dismounted and placed in line on the right of the infantry, were 
quickly advanced to within two hundred yards of the river 
bank. As yet, in this advance, no sight or sound had been gained 
of the presence of any enemy. 

A halt was made, and Major Mayo and the officers command- 
ing the companies appeared to be consulting whether to go for- 
ward, or to await orders from General Ruggles. Presently I 
was called into their presence, and directed to take a trusty 
man, proceed through the pines, ascertain the enemies' position, 
and bring back a report. 

With Pete Stewart (an old soldier of the Mexican War), 
I proceeded to execute the order, having Stewart in the lead. 
We moved cautiously, with guns cocked, from tree to tree, till 
we came to an open space of stumps and low pine bushes, where 
we got a clear view of the gunboat Freeborn, the warship Paw- 
nee and the tender. We had now to crawl on our knees to 
escape being seen, and paused every now and then to listen. 

While thus crawling, I came to a large pine stump, which 
had been struck by a cannon ball, and saw a huge hole cut in 
one side of it — the first evidence I had ever seen of the tre- 
mendous force of a cannon shot. 

When we had proceeded on our knees to within a few yards 
of the river bank, Stewart stopped, and whispered: **I hear 
them," significantly, pointing at the same time to a wooded bluff 



Early Engagements With Gunboats on the Potomac 1 1 

a little above us. Listening, we could catch the sound of voices 
and that of picks and spades, as of men at work digging in the 
sand and making a breastwork. 

Believing that we had an accurate knowledge of the enemies' 
position, we hastened back and reported. We were at once 
ordered to act as guides for the companies, and to direct them 
to where we had seen the enemy. My companion led the way 
for one company, and I for the other. 

The sight of that line of armed men moving through those 
woods, down a gentle decline into a valley, and up a gradual 
descent to the blufE beside the river, was one never to be for- 
gotten. There was the armed enemy, the gunboat with its 
cannon, the war vessel, and here were we advancing to open 
fire on them. My boyish dreams of battle seemed about to be 
fulfilled, the anticipation of my early soldier's life seemed to be 
turning into a stern reality. It was an exciting hour! 

Presently, the order came, "Charge!" and up the slope rushed 
the men with a resounding yell. The infantry company opened 
with their muskets a rapid fire; the cavalry more slowly got 
their shotguns into action. 

It quickly became apparent that Stewart and I had been mis- 
taken in locating the enemy. They were not, as we supposed, 
on the lower side of the marsh and pond ; but on the upper side, 
seventy yards away, where it was impossible for us to reach 
them, except with bullets. 

At the first shot and yell they dropped their tools, leaped into 
their large boats and rowed for the gunboat, our men mean- 
while pouring a continuous fire at them, as well as at the Free- 
born, the guns of which had opened on us with rapid volleys 
of grape shot. 

About the time the long boat with the fugitives got behind the 
Freeborn, her captain, J. H. Ward, fell dead on her deck, 
pierced in the abdomen by one of our bullets, and the command 
on board her was heard: *'Slip the cable!" The vessel got at 
once into motion, heading up the river, having in tow the boat 
in which the landing had been made, now all bullet-ridden, 
blood-stained, and bearing the bleeding bodies of a number of 
desperately wounded marines, including William J. Best, sea- 
man of the Pawnee, who had received two gunshot wounds 
and had a leg broken; William McChumney, landsman, of 



12 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

Freeborn, with gunshot wound; John Williams, of Pawnee, 
with gunshot wound in soft part of the right thigh, and George 
McKenny, of Freeborn, with gunshot wound in left thigh. The 
flagstaff carried on the small boat, in which these marines es- 
caped from the shore to the Freeborn, was shot off and nine- 
teen holes were cut in the flag. 

The captain of the gunboat Reliance, which was also near 
the scene of action, reported that "Lieutenant Draper and his 
command escaped utter destruction by a miracle." 

The body of Captain Ward, wrapped in the national colors, 
was transferred to the Pawnee, and with the wounded men, 
was taken to Washington. 

On the Confederate side, remarkable to say, in view of the 
grapeshot to which we were exposed, there was not a casualty. 
The nearest approach to one of which I learned was in my own 
case, when a cannon shot from the Freeborn, having struck a 
pine limb overhead, glanced to the ground within a foot of me. 
I reached forth my hand to seize the blackened ball of iron, 
but quickly let it go, because of its being so hot. In more than 
one sense, I could say I was in the heat of that action. 

A considerable pile of sand bags had been thrown up and a 
regiment of New York infantry was coming from Washington 
that night to take possession of them. We captured some 
spades, shovels, and a few muskets. We suffered intensely of 
thirst in the heat of that June day. 

The party of Federals who landed were thirty-four marines 
of the Pawnee, commanded by Lieutenant Draper, of that 
vessel. 

Early in the month of August because of the attack of 
measles to which I had become a victim, I obtained a leave of 
absence and set out to reach home by way of Fredericksburg 
and thence down the Rappahannock on the Virginia, formerly 
the St. Nicholas, which had been captured by "Zarvoni" 
Thomas, and turned over to the Confederate Government. My 
recovery was very rapid. On August loth, the landing of the 
Yankees was reported as having been made near Cole's Point. 
A smoke, as from a burning building in that vicinity, tended 
to confirm the report and much excitement prevailed in the 
community. Such soldiers as were at home on furlough, sev- 
eral members of the home guard, and a few armed citizens, 



Early Engagements With Gunboats on the Potomac 13 

hastened on horse back in the direction of the smoke. I ac- 
companied these men. It having been discovered that a party 
from the Resolute were on shore, it was agreed to take position 
on Fort Hill — a very advantageous ground — and dispute their 
advance, which they gave signs of making. Our waiting here 
was brief, when it was ascertained that the enemy, having 
burned the house occupied by Richard Reamy and his family 
and collected together most of the slaves on the place with such 
property as they could readily take away, had returned to the 
steamer. 

We rode down to the spot near the burnt house, where they 
had improvised a wharf, and on our way met poor Reamy with 
his wife and children, bemoaning with tears, the loss of their 
home and all their earthly goods. The volleys of his impreca- 
tions on the raiders were both plentiful and profane as he 
lifted his arm in vigorous gesticulation towards the steamer 
making its way out into the Potomac. 

Captain William Budd, commanding the Resolute under 
date of August loth, 1862, reported this dastardly act as fol- 
lows: "When I landed there, there was a party of secessionists 
from Maryland in the house. They made good their escape. 
I chased them for a mile, but they got off. I took ten contra- 
bands belonging to Colonel Brown. Colonel Brown has been 
a receiver and forwarder of recruits, and of course his property 
used for that purpose was confiscated." Colonel Brown owned 
the Cole's Point plantation, and Reamy lived on it as manager. 

Less than a week after this occurrence, I rejoined my com- 
pany and was sent at once with twelve men to relieve Corporal 
John Critcher who had command of a picket stationed at the 
house of Benjamin R. Grymes in King George County, from 
which the family had removed because of its exposed situation 
near the bank of the Potomac. 

It was by no means assuring and comforting on arriving at 
this house to find that a bomb, fired at it a few days before, 
had left the marks of over fifty shrapnel shot in the side of it 
next to the river, and to learn that a solid shot had entered the 
back door, cut the rounds out of a chair at the dining table, 
and passing out of the front door had shattered a gate post at 
the edge of the yard. 

It was perhaps on the morning following our arrival at this 



14 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee^s Army 

house that one of the men on sentinel duty reported that a 
friendly schooner had run aground under a high embankment 
close at hand near Metompken Point. Our horses were at 
once taken back and concealed in the woods, and our party pro- 
ceeded towards the vessel in distress in the most cautious man- 
ner and under all possible concealment of our persons. Near 
the bank was a deep rifle-pit made there in the spring, and it 
gave us good hiding and safety. We saw no means of captur- 
ing the vessel and deemed it improper to hail it lest it might 
not be manned by friends. 

While thus hiding in the rifle-pit, the gunboat. Resolute, 
under Captain Budd, was heard steaming in haste towards the 
schooner aground. Now as we caught sight of her, it seemed 
certain we could get a good shot at some of the crew, — an op- 
portunity we had often eagerly sought. 

. The men were ordered to lie low and not to shoot till the 
command was given to do so. 

Very soon the Resolute's wheel ceased to turn as it drew near 
the schooner. Captain Budd began to hail the unfortunate 
captain of the schooner and to address him in rough language, 
while a boat shot out from his steamer taking with it a hawser 
for the purpose of attaching it to the vessel and drawing it off. 
This boat was allowed by us to get within a few feet of the 
stern of the vessel when the squad of men were ordered to 
take aim and fire. Then ensued a rapid fusilade which was 
kept up by us until the boat was drawn back by the hawser and 
concealed behind the Resolute's hulk. Another gunboat now 
reached the scene, the Resolute backed out into the stream, and 
the two began to shell the woods. Our party creeping and 
crawling, and then with a yet more lively use of our legs, 
hastened back to where our horses had been left. 

Much costly ammunition was thrown away in the shelling 
that followed, but no harm was done. 

With a slight error as to the exact location of this stranded 
craft and a decided miscalculation of her distance from the 
shore, the captain of the Resolute reported that on August i6th, 
''Hearing that a schooner was ashore opposite (Cedar Point), 
I thought it advisable to go down to her and get her off, if 
possible, and I dispatched an officer and four men in a boat for 
the purpose of capturing her. They had just reached her, and 



Early Engagements With Gunboats on the Potomac 15 

were in the act of making fast, when a volley of muskerty was 
fired from the adjoining bushes, not more than five or six yards 
distant, instantly killing three of the boat's crew and wound- 
ing another. I immediately opened fire into the cover that 
sheltered the enemy. After four or five rounds they were 
driven out, running in parties of three or four in different direc- 
tion * * * the Reliance coming up at this moment 
commenced throwing shells at the flying enemy * * * My 
boat is completely riddled, particularly in the after part. Killed: 
John T. Fuller, master's mate ; George Seymour, seaman (shot 
through spine and lungs) ; Thomas Tully, seaman (in head) ; 
Ernest Weller, wounded." 

Of the effects of our shots in this affair we were completely 
ignorant, though well aware that, as the above report states, 
the "boat was completely riddled." 



CHAPTER II 

TOO LATE TO TAKE PART IN MANASSAS BATTLE 

'T^ HE month of July, 1861, was one of anxious suspense in 
-*■ all Southern circles, due to the expected battle between the 
enemy under General Scott in and around Washington, and 
that under General Beauregard at Manassas. There were 
good grounds for such anxiety. The early advance of the 
Federal army was deemed certain, and its superiority in num- 
bers and equipment was well understood, as also that it was 
strengthened by numerous well-disciplined regiments of the 
regular army. The troops under Beauregard were known to 
be entirely volunteers, lacking in equipment, never before under 
fire, in a great degree undisciplined, and inferior in numbers. 
Whether they could maintain their ground when the shock of 
battle came was to us a cause of profound concern. 

The troop of which I was a member had been ordered about 
the middle of the month from King George County up to 
Brooke's Station, where several regiments of infantry and one 
or two batteries, commanded by Major-General T. H. Holmes, 
were encamped. On the evening of July 20th, with our haver- 
sacks filled, we were ordered to march in the direction of Dum- 
fries, with the infantry and artillery following us. No one 
had any doubt but that our destination was to join Beaure- 
gard's army and that the battle which we had been anticipating 
with impatient zeal, not unmixed with grave concern, now was 
to take place. It was a revelation to us who rode on horses that 
day, how little advantage we had over the infantry, who cov- 
ered in their march mile after mile in about the same time 
that we did. 

As night came on, we were permitted to halt, feed our horses, 
and go to sleep. Very early next morning the column was put 
in motion again, with our company in the lead. With eight or 
ten men, I was sent ahead as an advance guard, with orders to 
keep a sharp lookout for the enemy approaching from our right. 
Within sight of our company was Colonel Carey at the head 
of the Thirtieth Virginia Infantry. 

16 



Too Late to Take Part in Manassas Battle 17 

No sooner had our march begun, than the distant booming 
of cannon satisfied us that a battle in the vicinity of Manassas 
had been opened. As the hours passed, the noise of the guns 
increased, becoming plainer as we approached nearer. At times, 
the sound veered to the left, as though our army were being 
driven back, and again it veered to the right, as though the 
enemy were yielding ground. Now there would be a lull in 
the cannonade, and again it would seem to gather volume and 
fury. 

The effect of all this noise of battle was almost electrical on 
Holmes's command. It inspired his men with ardor to mingle 
in the fray, and they so accelerated their march that it was not 
easy for our horses to keep the proper distance in advance of the 
infantry. 

As for myself, the nervous strain of the march was intense. 
From the instructions given me, I was momentarily expecting 
to discover a body of the enemy in front, or on my right. From 
every hilltop we reached, down every valley into which we 
looked, up every road bearing to the right, from behind every 
cluster of houses and from the cover of every grove we passed, 
we were on the alert, watching for the sudden appearance of 
the enemy, seeking to turn Beauregard's right flank. The ten- 
sion on the nerves through the long hours of the day from 
this constant expectancy of suddenly meeting the foe was in- 
tensified by the constantly increasing roar of the battle ahead 
of us. At no other time during all the war, save for an hour 
or two in the late afternoon at Gettysburg, was I the subject 
of so much painful suspense as on this day. 

When we reached Manassas it was approaching night. John 
Critcher, a private, then in our company, and later a colonel 
of the Fifteenth Virginia Cavalry, was sent by General Holmes 
to announce the arrival of his command, and to ask for orders. 
I saw him on his return, and heard him report what Beauregard 
had said of the battle, ''Our victory is complete." 

While we were halted near the station, squads of prisoners 
were coming from the battlefield under guard, and were added 
to a group of several hundred or more that already had been 
gathered under a cluster of oaks on the southern side of the 
track. While we were waiting here, a train arrived, and pres- 
ently vociferous cheering was heard. We were told the cheers 



1 8 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

were for Jefferson Davis, who had alighted from the train and 
was one of a number of men we had seen riding off. 

The gathering clouds now gave promise of a heavy rain, and 
we were marched to a large, roomy barn, scarcely a mile distant, 
where we found abundant hay for our horses and soft beds for 
ourselves, as well as dry and comfortable shelter. Here we 
forgot the weariness of our march, and the excitement of the 
day in slumber deep and sweet as that of childhood. 

The earth became very wet and soft from the heavy rain dur- 
ing the night. Next morning my mare sank in the earth above 
her fetlocks as I led her to water, and the stream was found 
to be so swollen and filled with red mud that she wouldn't 
drink it. The weather conditions made it plain that no success- 
ful pursuit of the retreating Federals under McDowell could 
be expected, even if Beauregard had any fresh regiments to 
undertake it. 

We were not ordered out from our cozy quarters that day, 
but enjoyed a quiet rest in the barn. A number of men asked 
permission to visit the battlefield, and having ridden over it, 
returned in the afternoon with harrowing accounts of its ghastly 
scenes of suffering and death. They brought, in one form and 
another, numerous mementoes of the first great field of Southern 
victory. A courier was asked for by General Beauregard, and 
Private Edwin Claybrook was sent to him. He was directed 
to find Colonel Stuart and to deliver a dispatch to him. Clay- 
brook returned at night, having found Colonel Stuart at Fair- 
fax Courthouse, and related with enthusiasm the impression 
he had gained of the commander of the First Regiment, who 
was destined before long to become one of the most famous 
cavalry leaders. 

On the 23d, under a hot July sun, we set out on the return 
to Brooke's Station. The march over the same road we had 
followed two days before was with sensations and emotions very 
different from those we then had felt. About noon, we halted 
near a home to which a spring house belonged by the roadside. 
The good woman of the home, eager to hear the particulars of 
the battle and enthusiastic over the victory to Southern arms, 
came down to talk with us, and having opened the door of the 
spring house, brought forth jars of cool milk. She handed me 
a full goblet, saying "It is buttermilk." I felt as I swallowed 



Too Late to Take Part in Manassas Battle 19 

it that nothing more cooling and refreshing ever had entered 
my lips. Others of my comrades expressed a like feeling after 
taking draughts. Through the long, long lapse of years that 
have passed since that day, with all their crowding events and 
distracting thoughts, that glass of buttermilk has remained a 
fresh and pleasing memory. 

On the night before leaving Manassas, I had slept in the 
hayloft close beside a fellow-soldier — Gordon F. Bowie — who 
was sick and the subject of a high fever. It now became known 
that he had the measles, and I had good reason to fear I would 
have it, too. Sure enough, after reaching Brooke's Station, the 
fever set in, and our surgeon, having removed me some dis- 
tance from the remainder of the company to a rude hospital of 
his own contrivance in the woods, gave me the soft earth for 
my couch and a holly tree for my shelter, and there, with a 
fire and a tin can of hot boneset tea, doctored me for several 
days in a dreary fog and drizzle, which seemed to me to be the 
long season in May recurring in July. 



CHAPTER III 

THE FEDERAL OCCUPATION OF FREDERICKSBURG IN APRIL, 1 862 

A BOUT April loth, 1862, I was encamped at Office Hall, 
-^^ the birthplace of the Hon. William Smith, who was later 
Governor of Virginia and already popularly styled "Extra 
Billy." An order had been received for the company to march 
to the vicinity of Boscobel in Stafford, nearly opposite to Fred- 
ericksburg, and the impression had been created among the men 
that important Federal movements were in contemplation with 
a view to driving the Confederates from the northern side of 
the Rappahannock and the occupation of Fredericksburg. 

Scarcely had we established our bivouac in Stafford before 
the number of pickets ordered to be sent out from the company 
and several other companies, which had assembled in the same 
vicinity, and the rigid cautionary instructions given them to keep 
a vigilant eye on the enemies' approach satisfied us that a 
Federal advance was hourly expected. 

We ascertained that Major W. H. F. Lee, with several com- 
panies of cavalry was holding the roads leading to Falmouth 
from the west, and that Major W. T. Taliaferro, with four 
companies of the Fortieth Virginia Infantry, was in position to 
support the cavalry if an attack should occur. The other com- 
panies of the Fortieth Regiment, under Colonel J. M. Brocken- 
brough, were on the Spotsylvania side of the river and were 
subsequently ordered to move over to the assistance of Major 
Taliaferro in the event he should be heavily pressed. 

On Thursday, April 17th, late in the afternoon. Major 
Lee's orderlies saw the approach of Federal calvary on the 
Warrenton road, and some skirmishing took place in the vicinity 
of Spotted Tavern and Grove Chapel. The troops on the 
Federal side engaged in this advance had made a forced march 
from Catlett's Station, twenty-six miles distant, and were a 
brigade of King's Division, commanded by Colonel Jeremiah 
C. Sullivan, and seven companies of the Harris Light Cavalry, 
under Colonel Judson Kilpatrick, with also four companies of 
the First Pennsylvania Cavalry under Lieutenant Colonel 

20 



The Federal Occupation of Fredericksburg in April, 1862 21 

Owen Jones. Brigadier General Irwin McDowell (of Bull 
Run fame) commanded these troops, and his plan was to at- 
tack the Falmouth bridge so secretly and suddenly as to gain 
possession of it before the Confederates could burn it. For 
this purpose Colonel Bayard, having command of the cavalry, 
designated four companies of his regiment to be led by Lieuten- 
ant Colonel Owen, who were to ''seize the bridge, rush across 
it, cut down the heavy gates on the opposite side and throw 
out pickets in advance." 

The skirmishing with Lee in the afternoon of Thursday re- 
sulted in the fall of Lieutenant James N. Decker, of the First 
Pennsylvania Cavalry, as well as the wounding of several other 
men. On the side of the Confederates one man was killed, 
and Lee was compelled to abandon his camp at Berea Church 
with some haste. 

This action led to the speedy movement of the cavalry com- 
panies under Major Beale with which I was connected, and they 
passed through Falmouth and beyond a mile or so where Major 
Taliaferro had stationed his infantry companies, and built across 
the road a log and rail barricade. When near the barricade, 
after nightfall, the cavalry was marched into a field on the 
right of the road and permitted to dismount, each man being 
allowed to lie down and get such sleep as he could, while holding 
the reins of his horse. Many of the men fell into sound slum- 
ber, when in the stillness and darkness of the morning some 
time before day light, the noise of a few pistol-shots was heard, 
followed by a volley of musketry, and with these were mingled 
the yells of the infantry-men guarding the barricade. 

These voices breaking forth suddenly on the night's darkness 
and silence had a most startling effect on the sleeping calvary- 
men and their horses. The horses were not easily restrained 
from dashing away in wild flight, and if the men had only been 
mounted many probably would have dashed away with them. 
The infantry, firing from the barricade and conscious of how 
suddenly the enemy's charge was stopped and how rapidly they 
retreated, gave vent to their feelings in cheers and yells. 

The result of the -cavalry charge in the dark was, in the 
language of the Federal commander, "a loss of five killed, six- 
teen wounded, and some fifteen dead horses." On the Con- 
federate side, the engagement was a bloodless one. 



32 A Lieutenant of Cavalry iji Lee's Army 

As the dawn of Friday morning (the i8th) began to break, 
the heavy force of the Federal side was reported as advancing, 
and General C. W. Fields, in command of the Confederates, 
ordered their withdrawal over the Falmouth bridge, and this 
was accomplished as the sun rose. The company of cavalry, 
brought up the rear, and crossed the bridge in time only to 
escape the flames that had been kindled for its destruction. 

The company was still on the bridge and near the mill which 
stood at the southern end of it when a Federal cannon was un- 
limbered on the hill above Falmouth and hurling a charge of 
canister down on us struck Private R. S. Lawrence in the 
shoulder as he rode in the line with his comrades, inflicting on 
him a painful wound. 

After crossing the river, we halted briefly, and then the 
march from the bridge to the town was in perfect order, but 
with no unnecessary further delay. When the command reach- 
ed the shelter of the houses on the north side of Main street, it 
was halted. Many citizens of the place were busily engaged 
in removing their families and effects to places of greater safety 
and much haste and confusion prevailed. While we sat on our 
horses momentarily anticipating the order to march, a member 
of the Spotsylvania troop, whose hungry horse sought to nibble 
a little grass on the edge of the street, gave a violent jerk to his 
rein with its rank bit so as to cause the animal to throw itself 
backward suddenly, with the effect of striking the hammer of 
the rider's carbine against the cantel of his saddle and dis- 
charging it. The bullet entered the man's brain near his neck 
and passed out at the top of his head. He fell unconscious to 
the ground, while his hat carried several feet into the air de- 
scended a short distance away. A soldier, who had dismounted 
and was standing near, was quite unused to so horrible a scene 
before getting his breakfast, and became nervously unstrung and 
fainted. 

When the order came to march, we passed through the town 
to the fair grounds and fed our horses. From this point, a clear 
view was gained of several of General Augur's regiments 
marching in fine order across the fields of the Chatham estate 
with their muskets glittering brightly in the morning sun. 

The retreat of the Confederate forces and the formidable 
appearance of infantry with the artillery on the commanding 



The Federal Occupation of Fredericksburg in April, 1862 23 

hills of Stafford, led the mayor and council of Fredericksburg 
to hold an interview on the day following with General Augur, 
and several other of the commanding officers of King's division. 
The same day T. B. Barton reported to General Fields: "To- 
day the committee had an interview with Augur, and we are in 
the hands of the Philistines." 



CHAPTER IV 

Stuart's dash around mc clellan's army on the chick- 

AHOMINY 

r\ N the thirteenth of June, 1862, most of the cavalry under 
^^ the command of General J. E. B. Stuart was encamped 
within a few miles of Richmond in groves near the Mordecai 
residence on Brooke turnpike. Among the regiments compris- 
ing this force was the Ninth Virginia Cavalry, commanded by 
CoL W. H. F. Lee. On the day named there was commotion 
in the camp, ammunition had been distributed and haversacks 
filled with cooked rations, horses saddled and bridled, the com- 
mand to mount had been sounded and about twelve hundred 
cavalrymen were in motion accompanied by a section of ar- 
tillery. The column was headed northward and in its march 
inclined rather away from, than towards, the Federal army 
which like a huge tiger lay crouching along the Chickahominy 
ready at any moment to spring upon its antogonist on the farther 
side of that stream. Stuart was directing his march so as to 
create the impression that he was making for Louisa County, or 
towards Fredericksburg, and allay all suspicion that he had any 
designs against McClellan's lines. 

It happened that a day or two previously I had gotten back 
to camp my young and fiery mare which had been sent off to 
be recruited and was now in fine condition, sleek and gay. On 
so nimble and handsome a steed, this march was an enthusiastic 
delight. At nightfall we were halted and went into bivouac 
on the Winston Farm in the vicinity of Taylorsville. When I 
fed my mare that night, it was with a feeling of admiring ap- 
preciation of her excellent condition and the pleasant ride she 
had given me. 

As yet curiosity was rife as to the intent of our march, and in 
what direction we would move on the morrow; but no hint 
had been disclosed to confirm one or the other of our specula- 
tions. 

Before the morrow broke, with the first faint signs of the 
coming dawn, several rockets were shot up from our camp, 

24 



Stuart's Dash Around McClellans Army 25 

making a whizzing noise and bursting into fiery flashes above 
the tree-tops. Immediately afterwards, our steeds were fed, 
our own breakfasts eaten, and without bugle sound we mounted 
and renewed the march. Few if any of the command now had 
any doubt but that our course would be towards the lines in 
rear of McClellan's army, which belief was soon confirmed as 
we took the road leading to Hanover Court House. 

On this road, our regiment took the lead with our Adjutant 
W. T. Robins, with a small detachment proceeding as an ad- 
vance-guard. The squadron to which I was attached (then 
companies B and C under Captain Samuel Swann), was in 
front, and following us came Captain William Latane's squad- 
ron (E and F). My position being at the rear of the leading 
squadron, I was placed near Captain Latane at the head of the 
one following, and so we rode side by side for some miles our 
right and left boots touching together as we proceeded. I do 
not recall anything of our conversation, but have an impression 
that he seemed serious and reflective. 

As we moved forward, however, the daring enthusiasm of 
the command was very noticeable, and Southern ardor was prob- 
ably never more manifest in soldiers' faces. As we came in 
sight of Hanover Court House, the indications ahead made it 
clear that the advance-guard had come upon the enemy's pickets, 
and was giving them chase. The order now came, "Trot, 
March" and at that gait we passed through the village and on 
towards Hawe's shop. The quickened motion of our horses, 
and the knowledge that we were rapidly coming into hand-to- 
hand contact with the Federal Cavalry, yet further inspired the 
ardor and dash of the movement. Suddenly, when past Hawe's 
shop and near where a body of timber on the left was bordered 
by our open field in the angle made by the road as it turned to 
the left beside the Tolopotomiy creek, we halted to make dis- 
positions to assail the enemy in front and another body in the 
field to the left. It was necessary to tear down the fence in 
order to charge into the field, and while handling the rails 
here, a bullet cut an ugly gash in the flesh of a member of Com- 
pany B, the first blood yet drav/n on our side. The 
fence having been removed, a part of our squadron dashed 
towards the enemy in the road, and another part towards those 
in the field. I accompanied those who entered the field, and 



26 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

the squad of men at whom we were charging, broke and dashed 
to the right joining their comrades in the road, and formed with 
them a confused mass, galloping for the bridge which spanned 
the creek. The bridge was too narrow to admit of all crossing 
at once, and a number thus delayed were made prisoners as had 
been several before reaching the bridge. 

In the gallop in the field, I did not pause on the hill and 
bear to the right as some of our party did, but continued with 
a few others, down the hill into the meadow below where the 
earth, made wet by recent rains, caused my mare to sink leg- 
deep in mire, throwing me several feet over her head. Before 
I could gain my feet, she had struggled out of the soft ground 
and, wild with excitement, dashed on into the road and joined 
the Yankee column at the bridge. Beautiful but foolish mare, 
she made no pause here and unable to get on the bridge leaped 
down the bank into the river! A few minutes later, I found 
her on the farther side of the stream vainly attempting to ascend 
the steep bank, and prvented from going farther down the 
stream because of fallen trees. I made my way to her; saw 
the hopelessness of her rescue, took a pistol and haversack from 
the saddle and resigned Sally Payton — such was her name, to 
her fate. 

Meanwhile, Captain Latane's squadron had crossed the 
bridge and was charging up the hill beyond, the cheers of his 
men echoing from its wooded summit. Hastening back to where 
the provost-guard had the prisoners, I obtained a captured horse 
and with it re-crossed the bridge, and just beyond in the narrow 
road descending the hill, I met four or five members of Com- 
pany E who were bleeding with the wounds just received. 
About half way up the hill, I met four men, each holding the 
corner of a blanket, and protruding from it behind was Captain 
Latane's boot, so familiar to me from our ride together that 
morning. He had been instantly killed at the top of the hill 
where he had met a Federal squadron. His younger brother 
John, a former schoolmate of mine at Fleetwood Academy, 
and now a soldier in his dead brother's company, took charge 
of his body, and having secured an ox-cart and negro driver, 
took it to the home of Dr. Brockenbrough near by for burial. 
The service that followed was chiefly administered by the gentle 
hands of women and has found touching and tender commem- 



- Stuart's Dash Around McClellans Army 27 

oration both in poetry and painting. 

It was found that the men whom we had met were com- 
manded by a Captain W. B. Royal of the 5th Regulars of 
the U. S. Army, a regiment of which General Robert E. 
Lee had been the Colonel and Fitz Lee a lieutenant. It was 
interesting and impressive to see a number of these men, held 
as prisoners, crowd around the latter officer, shake hands with 
him, and to hear them greet him in familiar manner as "Lieu- 
tenant." The fact that he now wore the uniform of a Con- 
federate Colonel apparently did not extinguish their friendly 
feeling for him. 

No time at this critical stage of the expedition was to be lost, 
and we hurried on from the scene of Latane's fall, at the trot, 
having opportunity as we resumed the march to glance at a 
cavalryman in blue lying across a corn-row near the road, as 
he had fallen from a fatal bullet. This was the first dead cav- 
alryman, on the side of the enemy that I had seen. Our rapid 
course was past Old Church beyond which a short distance was 
the camp of the Fifth Regulars, a squadron of which we had 
been fighting. Col. Fitz Lee having ascertained the location of 
this camp of his old regiment desired the privilege of charging 
it, and so at the head of the First Virginia Cavalry led our 
column. No stand was made at this camp. Colonel Lee's friends 
of former days not tarrying to give him welcome, but hastening 
away at full speed towards Mechanicsville. 

As I rode by the site of this camp, there stood the vacant tents, 
some piles of burning hay and here and there were a few sol- 
diers hastening to their places in the line with articles of trifling 
value picked up where the enemy in the haste of flight had left 
them. 

We were now on the road leading down through King Wil- 
liam County to Tunstall's Station on the York River Rail Road, 
and our route led along many rich plantations, and fine homes 
where dwelt families of most ardent Southern sympathies. The 
women of these homes who had been for weeks shut in the 
Federal lines beheld our moving column with wondering de- 
light, rushing to the doors and windows and porches clapping 
their hands and waving their handkerchiefs in an ecstacy of 
patriotic joy. 

As we passed on, the evidences multiplied of the presence not 



28 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

far off of a great army. The roads bore the marks of the pass- 
ing of vast trains, often through the midst of wheat fields 
ripening for the sickle. Now and then, a sutler's wagon was 
met and captured and once a fat surgeon and new ambulance 
came into our road just in time to meet us. Once at least, we 
came upon some quarter-master and commissary wagons whose 
drivers and guards, having discerned our approach, had fled. 

As we approached within a few miles of Tunstall's, our road 
was near enough to Pamunkey river to see the masts of some 
vessels lying at Gulick's Landing. Captain Knight with two 
companies was despatched to destroy the vessels, which he 
readily succeeded in doing, the guards of the Tenth Pennsyl- 
vania Cavalry having taken to cover at sight of his approach. 
This guard abandoned besides the vessels seventy-five loaded 
wagons on the river bank, which were burned. 

As we drew near to Tunstall's Station, the signs increased of 
serious opposition before us. As the railroad here was the main 
means of communication between McClellan's army and its 
base of supplies at the White House, it was naturally inferred 
that it was under strong infantry guard at this point. Stuart 
consequently arranged his men in a column of platoons and we 
dashed into the place at a gallop. The small guard having 
watch here, made no resistance. The order was given as soon 
as we reached the station to remove the track, cut the telegraph 
poles and wires, throw obstructions on the road, and make ready 
for the coming of a train, supposed to be filled with infantry, 
hastening to resist us. Before their orders could be put into 
execution, the engine of a train, puffing its smoke, came into 
sight and approached, slowing down the nearer it came, and 
evidently preparing to stop. A man at the upper end of our line 
of sharpshooters incautiously fired his carbine at the engineer, 
when instantly the whistle blew, and the train bounded forward 
at tremendous speed. A volley from all along our line was 
poured into it, but we had lost the chance of its capture, and it 
sped on bullet-scarred to the White House. 

With as little delay at Tunstall's as possible, we moved on 
in the growing darkness in the direction of Talleysville, near 
which we passed a hospital filled with sick and wounded men of 
the Union army who with their surgeons and' nurses were not 
molested. The weariness of our horses and our own hunger and 



Stuart's Dash Around McClellans Army 29 

fatigue demanded a halt here which was allowed us. A large 
store was found in charge of a sutler, and filled with goods 
suited to the tastes and physical needs of our men — substantial 
articles of food, cakes, confectionaries and fruits in great variety. 
We were directed by Colonel Lee to help ourselves. 

Perhaps my empty stomach and eager appetite made this 
permission to indulgence unfortunate for me, for a little later 
when I besought a much needed nap instead of getting it, as 
was the case with the comrades around me, I became the sub- 
ject of an internal commotion and violent upheaval which ill 
fitted me for the march through the later hours of the night 
to the point on the Chickahominy river where it was proposed 
we would effect a crossing. 

The place of this anticipated crossing was a somewhat se- 
cluded one on a plantation, to which no public road led and was 
capable of being forded only when the river was low. We 
reached it at daylight, and Colonel W. H. F. Lee, laying 
aside his clothing, and descending an embankment somewhat 
obstructed with bushes and trees, entered the water like a 
bold swimmer to test the depth and force of the current. He 
soon returned from his venture reporting that it was impossible 
to get the horses over without swimming them. 

Having had some experience in swimming horses in swollen 
streams, I offered to swim over that of my father, the Lt. 
Colonel of the regiment. His horse was a compact and hand- 
home bay called Dan which swam the stream with ease, and 
was left tied on the farther shore. Having swam back to 
the side of my companions, I led my own horse — the capture of 
the previous day — into the river and swimming at its head 
landed it on the opposite shore and saw it go up out of the 
water. I did not deem it necessary to halter it, but turned to 
swim back. When I got about mid stream coming back, I heard 
the heavy breathing of a horse and the sound of its feet like 
paddles in water and looking back saw the animal I had just 
released following me like a dog and in danger of striking me 
with its hoofs. It was evident that it was intent on getting 
back to the other horses from which I had taken it, and I let 
it return. 

While occupied in this endeavor to get these horses across the 
river, two tall pines near the water's edge had been cut down, 



30 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee*s Army 

in the vain hope that they would span the stream. Each of 
them in falling sprang clear of the shore and proving too short 
to reach the farther side were borne down the current. A 
long line made of bridle-reins and halters tied together had 
been carried by this time across and made secure to two trees, 
one on either side, and an attempt was made to ferry a raft of 
fence-rails over, capable of bearing ten or twelve men with their 
saddles and equipments. Only one trial of the raft was made, 
since as soon as it reached the centre of the stream the force 
of the water submerged the lower end of it, sweeping off some 
of its occupants' saddles, coats and boots, which were hopelessly 
borne away on the current. 

It became manifest now that to cross twelve hundred horses 
and a section of artillery here was impossible, and the command 
was put in motion for Jones' Bridge, a mile or so farther down, 
where the river dividing into two streams formed an insland, 
and greatly lessened the width of the main current. 

On reaching Jones' Bridge, we found that sometime pre- 
viously it had been burned and nothing but the charred piles 
remained. The current here though narrower than we had 
found it above, was correspondingly more swift and deeper. It 
offered just below the bridge favorable approaches for getting 
the horses into the water and out on the opposite side. While 
a force of men were detailed under Captain Redmond Burke 
to demolish a large barn which fortuitously was distant only a 
hundred yards or so, the process of swimming the horses was 
undertaken. It fell to my lot to swim eighteen, half the number 
in my company. The method was to mount a horse, force it 
into the water, leap off at once on the lower side and grasping 
the bridle-bit or halter swim against the current so as not to be 
swept below the landing-place on the other side. Stuart sat on 
one of the remaining timbers of the bridge watching the opera- 
tion with great interest and giving helpful directions from time 
to time. 

The barn having been taken to pieces, its timbers and planks 
were brought on the men's shoulders, and with these a bridge 
was constructed on the ruins of the old one, and across this 
many of the command walked, carrying their saddles, blankets, 
etc. This bridge, after more than half the horses had crossed 
by swimming, was made so secure that the remainder were led 



Stuart's Dash Around McClellans Army 3 1 

over on it, and so came over the artillery. 

In the hot sun of that June afternoon when all had crossed 
and the command was given to mount, to renew the march, I 
found myself unable to obey it. The labor of swimming 
twenty horses across the Chickahominy and exposure for hours 
to its muddy waters had stiffened my limbs and made it impos- 
sible to lift myself into the saddle. The kindly aid of Captain 
Forrest, a gallant Marylander who accompanied the expedition 
as a volunteer, enabled me to regain my seat. 

The island which we were now crossing was narrow, and in a 
few minutes we were in a great swamp covered with trees be- 
tween which the water of the swollen river rushed like a turbu- 
lent flood. The water was above our saddle-skirts. Lieutenant 
Breathed's guns as the horses dragged them were under water. 
We could barely see the tops of the caissons. Presently, one of 
these became obstructed in the mud, and in the effort to extricate 
it, the pole was broken. We left it there submerged, the only 
thing on wheels that we lost. 

Leaving the Chickahominy behind us, our general direction 
of march — painful and wearisome — was towards Charles City 
Court House, near which on the farm of Col. Wilcox, we 
halted to feed the horses and to get our own supper, and a short 
nap. About eleven o'clock, we resumed our march along the 
road near the James River leading towards Richmond. It was 
well understood that we were within the enemy's lines and that 
our movement might be intercepted by them, and we marched 
in quietude. Once in the night, we came to a vacant camp the 
tents of which stood silent and tenantless. Human endurance 
had reached its limit on this night's ride, and many men sat in 
their saddles in drowsy unconsciousness as their weary horses 
bore them along. If the march of that fourteenth day of June 
was not the longest we ever had made ; it was, including the 
excitement and labor incident to crossing the Chickahominy, 
by far the most taxing and exhaustive on our physical powers. 

The following morning we reached Richmond and were 
greeted by thousands of the populace with cheers and waving 
handkerchiefs, as we marched through the streets towards 
Brooke Avenue. On the farther ride to our camp at Mordecai's, 
the correspondent of the Dispatch joined us on horseback, gath- 
ering from us the particulars of the raid, which were graphically 



32 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee*s Army 

given in several columns of the paper on the ensuing morning. 
The active participation in various forms of helpful service dur- 
ing this exciting and daring adventure, brought a number of 
young soldiers into notice, and opened the way for their pro- 
motion. Conspicuous among these were: Captain Heros Van 
Borke of the Prussian army, who had cast in his lot with us and 
in whose honor the Confederate Congress a year later passed 
a highly commendatory resolution; Captain Farley, who was 
killed at Brandy Station, the next year; Dr. J. B. Fontaine, who 
was later also killed; private R. E. Frayser, who afterwards 
became our distinguished Captain of the Signal Corps; Lieu- 
tenant John Estair Cooke, a gifted author of books as well as 
efficient ordnance officer; John S. Mosby, destined to become a 
partisan-ranger of world-wide fame; and our daring adjutant, 
W. S. Robins, who became distinguished before the war closed 
as Colonel of the Twenty-Fourth Virginia Cavalry. 



CHAPTER V 

STUART's cavalry in the battle before RICHMOND 

T T was on the 25th of June, 1862, while the regiment to 
-■■ which I was attached — the Ninth Virginia — was encamped 
at Mordecai's, on the Brooke Turnpike, that the intense sus- 
pense which we had felt since returning from the raid around 
McClellan found relief from receiving orders to fill our haver- 
sacks and cartridge boxes and be in readiness to move. That 
afternoon we were mounted and marched out on the pike 
towards Yellow Tavern, beyond which we took a road bearing 
to the right at Turner's and followed it to the vicinity of Ash- 
land. It was our first opportunity to see the new battle flags 
of several of our cavalry regiments as they floated in the evening 
air. 

It was on this march, late in the afternoon, that I first be- 
held ''Stonewall" Jackson. He passed near me, attended by a 
number of his staff, riding his famous little sorrel, and wearing 
his no less famous slouch cap, which evidently had seen service. 
His appearance, which was not imposing or graceful in the 
saddle, drew my closest scrutiny, and his face betokened that 
his mind was intent on grave and momentous matters. 

After nightfall, as we emerged from the cover of some woods, 
there broke upon us the campfires of his army. They were 
bivouacking in a large, open field, and were freely using the 
fence rails which had inclosed it in making fires and in cooking 
their suppers. Thousands of fires lighted up the gathering dark- 
ness, and the forms of his men were seen standing around, or 
moving among them, presenting an impressive and animating 
scene of war. Passing on beyond them, we soon halted near 
Ashland and unsaddled for the night. 

On the following morning betimes we were up, mounted, and 
in motion as the advance of Jackson's command. Our march 
for some time seemed rather away from the Federal army on 
the Chickahominy than towards it. In the afternoon, we were 
halted and massed in a body of woods on the right of the road, 
as though some obstruction had been met in front. It was 

33 



34 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

• 

soon reported that we were near the Totopotomy Creek; that 
the bridge had been destroyed, and the enemy held the opposite 
bank. After waiting some time, it became manifest that Jack- 
son's infantry and some of his artillery — ^Whiting's Texans and 
Reilly's battery — were in motion, and presently here they came, 
with a battery in the lead. The wildest enthusiasm prevailed 
among the artillerymen. The horses were urged forward under 
spur, and the men ran and leaped like school boys hastening to 
their play. 

The enemy speedily retreated, and we resumed the march, 
passing over the creek on a newly improvised bridge, and a few 
miles beyond encamped for the night near the yard of Pole 
Green Church. What had been the necessity for the long and 
tiresome detour we had made, we did not know; nor has it yet 
been explained. 

The next morning we continued the march, and by a circuit- 
ous route, in which we passed Bethesda and Beulah Churches, 
we reached the vicinity of (Old) Cold Harbor. As we drew 
near, about 2:30 P. M., moving along amidst dense groves of 
pine through which came no warlike sound to break the quietude 
of our march, suddenly the boom of a cannon, a mile or so dis- 
tant, roused our intense attention. The cannon fire became 
louder and more rapid, and we all were assured that we were 
on the edge of a great battle. 

As we advanced towards the field of the fighting our course 
was diverted to the left, so as to place us opposite the extreme 
right of the Federal army, and in supporting distance of the 
horse artillery and Carrington's Battery on our left. 

Very quickly the musketry fire to our right, and extending 
back apparently for a mile or more, grew terrific in the rapidity 
and volume of its discharges. No lull for several hours was 
noticeable in its murderous volleys. No where else in all the 
war did I hear the sound of muskets so heavy and so continuous. 

Meanwhile, the roar of cannon mingled with deafening sound 
with the noise of the small arms and cheers of our charging 
lines. The guns near at hand had an open plain before them 
and were used with intense activity. A mile in front of them 
a road led ofi from the field of carnage, and beside it stood 
a tall and shapely pine, which became as the enemy retreated 
on it, a target for our gunners. Around that tree, their solid 



Stuart's Cavalry in the Battle Before Richmond 35 

shots and shells played with marked effect. 

Solid shot from the Federal battery whizzed over the heads 
of the cavalrymen, but only once, I believe, came low enough 
to do harm. In that case, while the Fourth Regiment was in 
line, a solid shot struck a young soldier, Warrock, of Richmond, 
in the body, hurling him, horribly mangled, to the ground. It 
sent a shudder through those of us who witnessed it. 

When the musketry fire, to which we had listened so intently, 
slackened, and died away, it became evident to us that the 
enemy was retreating. Very quickly, we were ordered forward 
in a direction that led us over a part of the ground occupied in 
the battle. The awful struggle had left many sad witnesses in 
dead and wounded men of its bloody nature. As we marched 
over the spot where a Federal gun had stood, we saw one of 
its cannoneers lying on the earth without a head. Some paces 
farther on his head entangled by his hair and heavy beard in 
the branches of a locust into which it had been hurled by a 
cannon ball, attracted our sight. His face was turned down- 
wards and his still open eyes with a ghastly stare seemed to 
look down sadly and reproachfully upon us. Farther on, we 
passed the tall pine around which we had seen our shells burst- 
ing. Many severed limbs of the tree lay on the ground, and 
the trunk of it was scarred and bruised from bottom to top, 
showing how well our gunners had aimed. 

Near this tree, was the limber of a Federal gun with axle 
shattered by a solid shot. Near it sat a boy of some thirteen 
or fourteen summers, wearing the blue uniform of a soldier. 
His leg was terribly shattered near his body, and his death was 
inevitable. His fair, young cheeks were unblanched, and his 
calm, composed, unruffled spirit in the face of death was never 
surpassed by any bronzed and bearded warrior. His bright, 
boyish face, seen under death's shadow, haunted me through all 
the subsequent days of war, and the sight of him proved to 
me one of its saddest and most touching incidents. 

Stuart was now proceeding three miles to the left of Mc- 
Clellan's lines to observe and obstruct any movement of his 
troops towards the White House, and his route led him past a 
shop, or church, on the road side, used as a Federal hospital. 
It was growing dark and the evening air was warm and sultry. 
As we drew near to the hospital the smell of human blood grew 



36 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

dense and sickening, and we quickened our way past to escape 
from it. One of my comrades, whose nasal faculties were less 
acute than mine and who shrank less from gruesome sights, 
ventured near to get a view of what was going on. He came 
back to tell us that he saw wagons filled with hands, feet, arms, 
and legs, and surgeons still busy with their amputating in- 
struments. 

No movement of the enemy such as was anticipated having 
been detected, we were moved back to the edge of the battle- 
field and slept there. Next morning at early dawn, as I opened 
my eyes, I noticed one of my company spring up from the 
ground, jerking his blanket after him, and beat a hasty retreat. 
I soon discovered that a cannon ball lay on the ground near 
where he slept, having been thrown there the previous day. The 
fear that it might be a shell and might yet burst had put him to 
undignified flight, no little to my amusement at the time. 

Leaving the Cold Harbor field that morning, our regiment 
marched in advance of General Ewell's troops towards Dis- 
patch Station, and on the way found two field pieces of Tid- 
ball's Battery, which had been abandoned on their retreat. Soon 
we separated from the infantry, they inclining towards James 
River and we directing our course to the White House, on the 
Pamunkey. Some skirmishing occurred as we approached the 
latter place. Captain Pelham did some cannonading. Very 
soon the smoke of burning buildings and army supplies gave 
signs that the Federal troops there were abandoning the place. 
We approached cautiously for a time (a gunboat still remaining 
to guard the place), and then took eager possession. We found 
our colonel's (W. H. F. Lee's) house was a bed of redhot 
embers. A number of adjacent houses were still hot and smok- 
ing from the torches that had been applied. 

The mass of commissary, quarter-master, medical, and sut- 
ler's supplies not yet burned was enormous. Army wagons had 
been backed over the river bank until they formed an island, the 
wagon tongues in great numbers protruding out of the water. 
Muskets and carbines had been cast into the river until one 
could stand on them dryshod above the current, so large was 
the pile. 

A hospital of new white tents occupied a large part of one 
of the fields of the plantation, arranged in orderly rows, and 



Stuart's Cavalry in the Battle Before Richmond 37 

furnished with cots, and every necessary facility and utensil 
for the care and comfort of the wounded of a great battle. As 
I moved among them, the thought could not be suppressed of 
how sadly the thousands of McClellan's bleeding men on the 
Chickahominy needed the hospital, and how utterly useless it 
had proved to them. 

Having observed some locomotives and cars standing on 
the tracks, I examined them to see if the cars were there which 
had run the gauntlet of our fire at Tunstall's Station two weeks 
previously, during the raid made by Stuart. They were soon 
found, and the bullet marks on them bore witness to the severity 
of the fire through which they had passed. 

Our physical wants were abundantly supplied here, and the 
next day we moved back towards the Chickahominy, and halted 
on the wooded hills above Forge Bridge. A body of Federal 
infantry and a section of artillery held positions near this bridge. 
The hill beyond was elevated and unobstructed by timber. Some 
delay and reconnoitering resulted from seeing the enemy here. 
Suddenly, as we were watching from our sheltered position, 
Pelham dashed forward, with two guns, down the incline and 
across the plain, and taking position near the river, opened on 
the guns on the hilltop. He had already received their fire. 
The duel became rapid and exciting. It was quickly apparent 
that Pelham 's guns were aimed with fatal effects. At each 
discharge of them a man, or a horse, was seen to fall or flee. 
In a few minutes after the firing began, the Federal guns were 
in full retreat. As they dashed along the road in the distance, 
we saw the branches of the cedars falling about them, cut down 
by Pelham's parting shots. 

As illustrative of the exaggeration and unreliability which 
often marked reports of engagements sent in from the field, that 
of Lieutenant Val. H. Stone, commanding the Federal guns on 
this occasion at Forge Bridge, is a striking example. He re- 
ported: "June 30, II A. M., the rebels appeared on the op- 
posite side. At I P. M. they opened fire with eight guns. I 
was under fire the greater portion of the time until 6 P. M. 
For two hours of the time, I had their guns completely silenced. 
. . . My riding horse was killed with a shell. No men 
killed in my command. One of the cavalry killed. Consider- 
able loss on the enemy's side." 



38 A Lieutenant of Cavalry^ in Lee's Army 

It is quite likely that other participants in this affair on the 
Union side gave a different version of it, since the officer, Major 
Robert M. West, to whom the above quoted report was ad- 
dressed, indorsed on it: "This young officer, with new horses 
and men that had never been tried, performed exceedingly well, 
considering." To those of us on the opposite side it seemed that 
the only performance in' which he acted "exceedingly well" was 
the rapidity of his flight. 

No attempt was made by us that evening to cross the aban- 
doned bridge, but about dark 1 was sent along with our squad- 
ron to ascertain the position of the enemy in the direction of 
New Kent Courthouse. It fell to my lot to ride with another 
man in advance, and it was an exciting ride, not knowing at 
what moment a watchful enemy might salute us with a volley. 
We had come within one or two hundred yards of the court 
house, when, discerning an object in a ditch by the road side, 
my comrade said in a low tone: "It's a cow," whereupon the 
Yankee picket spurred his horse from the ditch, and too much 
startled to fire a shot, disappeared at a gallop in the darkness. 
We turned back to report the circumstance, when the officer 
commanding us, having heard a bustle, as of troops mounting, 
in the direction of the enemy faced about, and hastened back at 
a trot. 

My position became then in the rear, and before going far, 
from carelessness in sitting properly in my saddle it turned on 
the horse's back precipitating me to the ground. The column 
moved on rapidly, no one in the line being conscious of the 
accident. I was left alone in the road with my saddle loosely 
strapped to the horse's belly instead of his back. 

Hearing that the enemy was in pursuit, and might dash up on 
me in a moment, I led my impatinet and restless horse (neighing 
lustily for the others of the command) down into the woods and 
fastened him to a limb, and then proceeded to adjust the saddle 
while he pawed and pranced. I succeeded in saddling and 
mounting him with intense satisfaction, and on getting back 
into the road, gave him the rein. He followed the track of the 
other horses and before long caught up with them. 

It was daybreak when we reached our regiment, and by the 
time our horses could eat we were in motion for Bottom's 
Bridge, twelve miles higher up the river. From some over- 



Stuart's Cavalry in the Battle Before Richmond 39 

sanguine source we were informed that we were marching to 
witness the surrender of McClellan's army — information which, 
however groundless, made us forgetful of fatigue and the last 
night's sleeplessness. 

On reaching the above-named bridge with slight delay, our 
column was turned about and somewhat impatiently and wearily 
we marched back to the point we had left in the morning. We 
were not halted here, but passed over the Forge Bridge, and on 
the hill beyond saw a dead horse, and under the cedars farther 
on two freshly made graves — silent witnesses of Pelham's death- 
dealing shots seen by us the day previous. Our march was 
towards Malvern Hill, near which place we halted for the 
night. Having ridden fifty miles or more, I tied my horse to 
a fence and gave him his frugal meal, and then threw myself 
down, sleepy and almost exhausted, in a shallow ditch by the 
fence side, and was soon in the deepest unconsciousness. The 
rain fell during the night in a heavy downpour, but I knew 
it not. When I awoke next morning, water stood around me, 
and as I raised my body up out of it,^ I could hear the noise of 
suction such as a log makes when lifted up out of soft mud. 

The following day we were placed in position near the bloody 
field of Malvern Hill, but took no part in the fighting. We 
were on ground sadly marked by signs of the battle of the 
previous day, the destructive marks of shot and shell on the 
earth and on houses, trees, fences and the prostrate forms of 
our fallen soldiers having been seen by us. 

That night, not far from this field of carnage, I lay down to 
sleep near my horse with my oilcloth spread over a few rails 
resting on a fence. During the night I awoke to find myself 
on a horse, I knew not where, and all alone in a road, I knew 
not where. The reins, as I grasped them, felt strange to my 
hand and the horse was wholly unlike my own. I turned 
around and moved in a direction opposite to that I had been 
heading. Soon I was back at our camp, tied the unknown 
horse to a tree and found my shelter and went again to sleep. 

Next morning I was delirious with fever, and was placed by 
our surgeon in an ambulance and sent to a field hospital near 
Atlee's Station, where Edward Lee, a faithful colored servant, 
nursed me with most considerate and gentle care. 



CHAPTER VI 

DEAD AND WOUNDED LAY IN HEAPS AT MANASSAS 

T WAS unfitted for service by an illness of several weeks, 
-■• which well-nigh proved fatal, and separated, in consequence, 
from my regiment. It meanwhile, marched from Atlee's Sta- 
tion, not far from Richmond, on the campaign against Pope. 
Having been thus left behind for a few days, I was not permit- 
ted to share in the exciting dash in the darkness on Catlett's 
Station and the capture of General Pope's coat and orderbook; 
but, nevertheless, it fell to my lot to secure the book, and I have 
it still as a souvenir of the occasion, when the Federal com- 
mander was said to have called to the engineer of a train at 
the station and ready to move: "Hurry up! Hurry up! They've 
got my headquarters, and if you don't hurry they'll get my 
hindquarters!" I also escaped the raid on Manassas Junction, 
w^hen Pope's immense stores of provisions for his army were 
captured and burned. 

On August 27th, I set out to overtake our army by way of 
Louisa Courthouse, Culpeper Courthouse, and Thoroughfare 
Gap, having as companions my brother Robert, Gawin C. Tali- 
aferro, John Sturman and later Colonel Joseph Mayo and 
Captain William B. Newton. After reaching Culpeper Court- 
house, we were on the track of the two great armies as they 
moved towards Manassas preparatory to the second bloody 
battle on that memorable field. As we rode through Fauquier 
County, couriers bearing dispatches, men slightly wounded and 
other persons who had followed the army were met, and they 
told us of the bloody battle, and how signally the victory had 
been on our side. As we approached closer to the field, the 
melancholy signs of the strife became more frequent. Major- 
General Taliaferro was seen badly wounded with his two at- 
tendants, making his way painfully back to a hospital, and other 
officers from colonels down to lieutenants were met with band- 
aged heads, legs, and arms, all showing the deadly work in 
which they had been engaged. 

On the right of the road, beneath a grove of oaks, shady and 

40 



Dead anu Wounded Lay in Heaps at Manasses 4I 

cool, such as are frequently to be seen in Prince William 
County, we came upon a field hospital, with hundreds of 
wounded men lying on blankets, spread under the trees, and 
attended by surgeons and their assistants. No tent as yet had 
been put up to shelter any of them in case of rain. It was a sad, 
sad sight, that large assemblage of brave men, wounded in every 
possible way, and many of them dying, out beneath the trees, 
away from the sound of a woman's voice or ministry of her 
hand. 

Near the spot of ground by the roadside, a fine horse, per- 
haps a surgeon's, which had been tied to a stake, succeeded in 
pulling the stake from the ground just as we were passing, and, 
becoming wildly frightened by having it dangling at his side, 
rushed blindly into the grove among the wounded men, turning 
this way and that and whirling the stake furiously as he ran. 
We could see the commotion created, but were helpless to avert 
the harm, and hastened on without learning what injury was 
done. 

Very soon after this, we were on the battle ground of the 
previous day, moving where the fighting had been very heavy. 
The dead were lying just as they had fallen. We rode through 
a body of timber, near the edge of which the Federal infantry 
had made an obstinate stand, firing from behind the trees. 
Beside nearly every tree on this line, we saw a dead soldier 
lying, and in some instances more than one. Deeper in the 
woods, here, there, and yonder, the fallen lay on the ground, 
some facing the over-arching branches of the trees, others with 
their faces turned to the earth, and yet others having xht'ix 
eyes gazing towards the right or left — all with death's glazed 
and ghastly stare. 

Of this field and the furiously contested struggle which took 
place on it. General Jackson said: "Eagerly and fiercely did 
each brigade press forward, exhibiting in parts of the field, 
scenes of close encounter and murderous strife not witnessed 
often in the turmoil of battle. The Federals gave way before 
our troops, fell back in disorder and fled precipitately, leaving 
their dead and wounded on the field." . . . "We captured 
eight pieces of artillery with caissons, and 6,520 small arms were 
collected from the field." 

On the day of my ride through the blood-stained fields and 



42 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in L, 



my 



woods of this historic ground where death held high carnival, 
I halted to eat within a few feet of one of the capturtrl batteries. 
The guns were new, the horses sleek blacks, and their harness 
superb. 

That afternoon I moved on in quest of my regiment, and at 
nightfall slept near the road leading to Centerville. A very 
large part of Lee's army moved that night over that road, 
hastening forward to bring Pope's demoralized regiments to 
battle again. I never can forget the regular, rhythmic tread of 
those heroic regiments, marching four abreast as they passed in 
silence and darkness from fields of victory in quest of others. 

The following morning, on the road to Fairfax Courthouse, 
I discovered General Stuart and staff, dismounted near the 
roadside, and learned that my regiment was close at hand. 
Stuart wore a jacket, and carried a sword suited to a powerful 
arm. His eye beamed with unusual brightness, he appeared 
the splendid cavalier that he was, and, like a warrior, finding 
delight in a victory on a hard-fought field. 

Later that day, on our advance line, I met my comrades, from 
whom I had been separated for a month. They were lamenting 
the death of one of the company, Octavus Gutridge by name, 
who had fallen under circumstances that did not admit of his 
comrades burying him, and so was left to fill an unknown grave. 

That morning as I sat in the saddle beside the pike, I saw 
an ambulance pass me under a flag of truce, escorted by a de- 
tachment of infantry with arms reversed. It was moving to- 
wards the Federal lines, and bore the body of General Phil 
Kearny, who, in trying to rally his men in the Ox Hill or 
Chantilly battle, had been killed. He was brave to a fault, 
and greatly admired and esteemed in the army of the Potomac. 
His State, New Jersey, afterwards placed a bronze statue to 
his memory and honor in Statuary Hall in the National Capitol. 
Thousands of his countrymen will look upon his manly figure 
there without knowing what a knightly and dauntless plume 
he wore where he fell. 

We followed the line of Pope's retreat as far as Fairfax 
Courthouse and Fairfax Station, and then marched to Drains- 
ville, where the long-absent wagon-train was met. For days 
previously, the men had subsisted principally on green corn, 
gathered from the fields, and toasted. The cooking of the scant 



Dead and Wounded Lay in Heaps at Manasses 43 

ration of meat obtained had been by most primitive methods, 
without frying-pan or skillet. 

On September 4th, we moved up near Leesburg, the tin 
roofs of some of the houses of which we could see glistening in 
the sunlight. On the 5th, we marched through fertile planta- 
tions east of that town towards Edwards Ferry. Several lines 
of Stuart's regiment on different paths were wending their 
way to this ferry, and as they proceeded with regimental flags 
floating above them, the scene was attractive and inspiring. 
Having forded the Potomac, we passed beneath an aqueduct, 
or canal rather, which spanned the road, and that night biv- 
ouacked at Poolesville, rejoicing in the abundance of the rich 
yellow corn and hay which we were able to secure for our 
horses. 

We were now well launched on the Maryland campaign. 



CHAPTER VII 



THE MARYLAND CAMPAIGN 



"P\ URING the camaign in Maryland in 1862, the Ninth 
Virginia Cavalry was attached to the brigade commanded 
by General Fitz Lee. After nine days spent among the fine 
hay and rich yellow cornfields of Montgomery and Frederick 
counties, the regiment crossed the Catoctin mountain at Ham- 
burg at dawn on the morning of September 14th. Hamburg 
was a rude and scattering village on the crest of the mountain, 
where the manufacture of brandy seemed to be the chief employ- 
ment of the villagers, and at the early hour of our passage 
through the place, both the men and women gave proof that 
they were free imbibers of the product of their stills. It was 
not easy to find a sober inhabitant of either sex. 

To our troopers descending the western slope of the moun- 
tain, the peaceful valley below, dotted over with well-tilled 
farms, with a bold stream winding down among them, presented 
a scene of unusual beauty and loveliness. Near a large grist- 
mill, the command was halted after a march of several hours, 
and here rested beneath the shade of a large apple orchard until 
four o'clock in the afternoon. The distant boom of artillery 
assured us of the bloody conflict going on at South Mountain, 
the issue of which we were in suspense to know. The march 
in the afternoon brought the command to the vicinity of Boons- 
boro, where a brief halt was made after nightfall to rest and to 
feed the horses. Near midnight, the march was resumed in the 
direction of the mountain pass above Boonsboro. The disaster 
to our arms in the fight of the previous day was now made 
manifest, as artillery, ambulances, and infantry were met re- 
treating down the mountain. The brigade, having ascended a 
mile and a half, perhaps, above the town, was held in readiness 
to charge in column of fours. The nature of the ground was 
ill-suited to the operation of cavalry, and much relief was felt 
when, at dawn, we began to fall back towards Boonsboro. Our 
retreat was none too early, for already the columns of the enemy, 
with their bright muskets gleaming in the morning light, could 

44 



The Maryland Campaign 45 

be seen as we entered Boonsboro. More than once, we were 
faced about as we retreated, as if to repel a threatened charge 
by cavalry. 

Having been halted in the streets of Boonsboro, the men, after 
being so long in the saddle, were allowed to dismount, and for 
some time remained in this way, the men standing by their 
horses, or sitting down on the curbstones and holding their 
bridle reins. Suddenly, the order "Mount! Mount!" resounded 
down the street, and simultaneously a rapid fire of pistols and 
carbines was heard near at hand. Before the men could mount 
and form ranks, the rear guard, retreating at full speed, dashed 
into our already confused column and in an incredibly short 
time the street became packed with a mass of horses and horse- 
men, so jammed together as to make motion impossible for most 
of them. At the same time, the upper windows in some of the 
houses were hoisted and a volley of pistol shots poured down 
on our heads. The Federal cavalry, quickly discovering our 
situation, dashed up boldly and discharged their carbines into 
our struggling and helpless ranks. When the way was opened, 
and retreat became possible, a general stampede followed, our 
whole force rushing from the town down the pike at a full 
gallop. This disorderly movement was increased by the discov- 
ery that some of the enemy's infantry had almost succeeded in 
cutting off our retreat, and were firing from a corn field into 
our flank. 

We were scarcely outside the town before our colonel's 
(W. H. F. Lee) horse was killed, and he, falling heavily on 
the 'pike, had to take flight, dust-covered and bruised, through 
the field on the left. Captain Hughlett's horse fell in like man- 
ner on the edge of the town, and he, leaping the railing, found 
concealment in a dense patch of growing corn. In the middle 
of the turnpike, were piles of broken stone, placed there for 
repairing the roadway. On these, amidst the impenetrable dust, 
many horses blindly rushed, and falling, piled with their riders 
one on another. Here and there in the pell-mell race, blinded 
by the dust, horses and horsemen dashed against telegraph posts 
and fell to the ground, to be trampled by others behind. 

When the open fields were reached and we were beyond the 
range of the infantry, a considerable force was rallied and the 
Federal horsemen were charged in turn. In this charge our 



46 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

lieutenant-colonel's horse was killed, and a second charge was 
led by Captain Thomas Haynes, of Company H, in which a 
number of prisoners belonging to the Eighth Illinois Cavalry 
were captured and brought out. With this charge, pursuit by 
the enemy was checked, and two battle-flags, about which some 
brave men fell into ranks, with Fitz Lee in the centre, served 
as a rallying point, where our regiments were quickly reformed. 
We then withdrew leisurely in the direction of Sharpsburg, and 
were not further pressed. 

In this brief and ill-starred encounter, the Ninth Regiment 
lost two officers and sixteen men killed and mortally wounded, 
and ten men captured. Among the killed were Lieutenant 
Fowlkes, of Lunenburg, and Frank Oliver, of Essex — two very 
gallant men. 

Captain Hughlett, who was dismounted early in the action 
by the falling of his horse, remained in concealment in the corn 
throughout the day, and was a sad and silent witness of the 
burial of his dead comrades by the enemy. Under cover of 
darkness, he sought food at the hands of a woman who was 
strongly Union in sentiment, and had two sons in the Federal 
army. She relieved his hunger, and, strengthened at her hands, 
he made his way into our lines, and reached the regiment next 
day, having had during the night several narrow escapes from 
the enemy's sentries. 

On the morning of the i6th of September, the regiment was 
again in motion, after spending a quiet and restful night in a 
fine grove of oaks, and soon became satisfied that the move- 
ments of our army did not mean an immediate retreat across 
the Potomac, but a preparation for battle in the beautiful, wind- 
ing valley of the Antietam. Our line of march led us past the 
position of Hood's Division, the troops of which already had 
thrown up a slight breastwork of rails, logs, stones, and lay on 
their arms, in readiness for the enemy's advance. These gal- 
lant men, who were destined to meet the first furious onslaught 
of McClellan's troops, occupied rising ground, partly in the 
woods, and partly in the open fields, with an open valley wind- 
ing in front of them. A few hundred yards in advance of 
Hood's line, the cavalry was drawn up in line on a wooded 
eminence in rear of several pieces of artillery. The position 
commanded an extended view of open fields and a straight road- 



The Maryland Campaign 47 

way leading towards Antietam river, and in the distance could 
be seen the heavy column of the advancing Federals. Their 
march was regular and steady towards our position. Only 
once, where a road diverged from that on which they moved, 
was there a halt. After pausing at this point for a few minutes, 
the column was set in motion again up the road on which we 
were posted. As yet, no Federal skirmish line had been de- 
ployed, and only a few mounted men were visible. Infantry and 
artillery composed the heavy blue column. The foremost file 
of these troops had approached almost near enough to count the 
buttons on their coats, when our guns opened from the covert 
a rapid fire, and thus began the bloody battle of Sharpsburg. 
The Federal batteries were hurried forward rapidly, and our 
guns were soon withdrawn. In retiring, we passed after dark 
through the valley on the farther side of which Hood's Division 
rested on their arms. The Federals were now discharging a 
deafening fire of artillery, and a few guns on our side were 
answering them. As we moved through the valley, the shells 
from two directions were passing over our heads, their burning 
fuses gleaming like meteors, and the whole making a com- 
paratively harmless but brilliant spectacular performance. 

If I learned at the time to what battery the guns belonged 
that fired these first shots at Sharpsburg, I have quite forgotten 
now. This information was earnestly sought by the Antietam 
Battle-Field Board, of the War Department. General E. A. 
Carman, of that board, wrote from Sharpsburg once to me: 
"For some time I have been endeavoring to ascertain what force 
opposed Hooker's when he first crossed the Antietam on the 
afternoon of September i6th, and before he came in contact 
with Hood's Division, but have been unable to get anything 
satisfactory. He was opposed by artillery, yet I can get no 
trace of any artillery within a mile of where he was first fired 
at. I have come to the conclusion that the gun, or guns, oppos- 
ing him must have been one or more of Pelham's, but I cannot 
verify my conclusion, nor can I communicate with any sur- 
vivors of that battery." 

The cannonading at nightfall was of short continuance, and 
it soon became almost as quiet on the field of Sharpsburg as 
though no armies were there confronting each other. The 
movement of the troops was made as noiselessly as possible. 



48 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

Our brigade was on the march for several hours, and through 
the mistake of a blundering guide, was led to a position very 
close to a line of Federal batteries. Here we slept unconscious 
of danger until nearly dawn. Before daylight, General Fitz 
Lee ascertained the situation of the command, and endeavored 
to extricate us as quietly as possible, going around himself arous- 
ing and cautioning many of the men. We had gone a quarter 
of a mile away, perhaps, and had nearly reached a position of 
safety bej^ond the crest of a hill, when we were discovered, and 
the enemy's guns opened on us. This discharge began the 
fray on the memorable and sanguinary 17th of September, 1862. 
One of the first shells fired, striking the earth near us, exploded, 
covering some of us with dust and inflicting on brave Colonel 
Thornton, of the Third Virginia Cavalry, a mortal wound. 
I was near him at the moment, and witnessed the shrugging of 
his shoulders and quiver of the muscles of his face, as he felt 
the shock of the piece of shell, shattering his arm close to the 
shoulder. 

We had been, thus far, on the extreme left of our line of 
battle, and early in the day were ordered to report to General 
T. J. Jackson, who commanded on the right. Our men, with- 
out a round of ammunition left, were seen leisurely retiring 
towards the rear, singly and in groups. Some of our batteries, 
having shot their last round, were leaving the field at a gallop. 
General Jackson's order was that we should take position in 
rear of his troops, intercept the stragglers, and direct them to 
stated points, where they were refurnished with ammunition 
and marched back to the line of battle. Motioning to our cap- 
tain to give him his ear, he directed him, in a whisper, "not to 
halt any men of Hood's Division, saying they had liberty to 
retire. General Jackson's position was in the open field, near 
a large barn. He commanded a full view of the contending 
lines in the valley below, and of the Federal batteries ranged one 
above another on the hills beyond. The shells of the latter 
were passing thickly, and bursting near him, while he sat on 
his steed giving his orders, as serene and undisturbed as his 
statue in the Capitol Square at Richmond. 

In moving from the place of our bivouac at dawn of the 
bloody day at Antietam, we passed near an orchard beyond 
which stood a brick house with chimneys at its farther end, and a 



The Maryland Campaign 49 

flight of ten or twelve steps leading up to the front door. 
Through this orchard were fleeing in consternation and most 
pitifully, the female part of the family, without their breakfast, 
with most hastily arranged attire, and bearing nothing in their 
hands that I noticed, of the cherished contents of their home. 
Many of our troops had reached the house in advance of me, 
and could be seen ascending those steps or coming down them, in 
the latter case having their hands filled with meat, cans of fruit, 
honey, jars of pickle — whatever was eatable found in the build- 
ing. I am sure the supplies of the family were in a few minutes 
all seized by our men, and the home left as bare as Mother Hub- 
bard's fabled cupboard. 

As we approached our line of battle, we were halted near a 
large barn, used by us as a hospital, and from our position we 
could see on the sloping hills beyond the Antietam, the thickly 
frowning batteries of the enemy, while the smoke of battle rose 
from the infantry lines contending desperately in the vale be- 
tween. The percussion shells from one of the batteries began 
to fall near us, and one of them striking a ledge of rocks close 
by, was exploded, much to our peril and that of the barn, which 
presently took fire over the wounded men, and to the grim hor- 
ror of the battle, added those of its flames and smoke. 

Before the barn took fire, however, we had been withdrawn 
and assigned to the unwelcome task of halting the fugitives from 
our battle-line, supplying them with ammunition and directing 
their return. These men, with scarcely an exception, were ready 
and eager to return to their posts and renew the fight. 

While halted beside the pike and on the lookout for stragglers 
our attention was frequently called to shells bursting overhead, 
the fragments of which, plainly visible and hurled in eccentric 
and zig-zag courses, left us uneasy lest a piece should strike us. 
While thus occupied, in a large ploughed field to our right, a 
lone soldier was seen making his way to the rear by the most di- 
rect line that occurred to him. It was evident that he was seek- 
inng to make good his escape from the battle with apparently all 
the speed he could command. Just as I called attention to him, 
a shell struck the ground near his feet, and burst enveloped him 
in smoke and dirt. We all felt, poor fellow, he is blown to 
pieces ; but when the dust and smoke lifted we saw him raising a 
dust with his own feet and with renewed energy and vigor mak- 



50 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

ing far better speed than before. 

After this, we took position somewhat under a hill, supporting 
a battery above us. The battery, it was plain, was a target, for 
several of the Federal guns, and their shots were making the 
ground on which it stood dangerous and bloody. Now and then 
a shell would explode, or a solid shot strike near us. Once, I 
saw a soldier hurled from his saddle very near me, the cannon 
shot having struck him and thrown his body several feet from his 
horse. I later learned that he was John Garnett Fauntleroy 
with whom I had often played when we were school-mates at 
Fleetwood Academy. 

When the night's approach put an end to the fighting on this 
field, we were allowed to seek some camp near by for food and 
rest. Wherever we rode for this purpose, however, the ground 
seemed to be occupied with dead or wounded men. At length, 
we sought some stacks, and a barn, resolved not to ride farther ; 
but there, on the straw and in the buildings, were the dead. I 
sought an empty wagon in the barnyard and fastened my horse 
to a wheel. Next morning, under the wagon, lay a young sol- 
dier, fair and noble in his death, with his clothes partly unfast- 
ened and his clinched fingers near the ghastly wound in his ab- 
domen from which he had died. The last scene on which my 
eye rested that night before it closed, in such close comradeship 
with the dead, was that of a small group with a flickering lan- 
tern beside a fence near by, who were digging a grave and rude- 
ly raising the earth over some fellow-soldier who had fallen. 
Next day, the i8th of September, was spent in line of battle 
awaiting a renewal of McClellan's attack ; but he showed no 
disposition to renew it, and preparations were made on our side 
to withdraw at night, and cross the Potomac at Shepardstown. 
The need of food among us had now become imperative and des- 
perate, and in our company, at least, was fast beginning to sur- 
mount all other considerations. Towards night, six or seven 
sheep, the frightened and pitiful remnant of a large flock, were 
found in a field, and on the edge of it, we halted and made ready 
to cook our supper. Several of the men were detailed to catch 
two sheep. I watched the chase, and for celerity of movements 
and skill of plan to make a speedy capture, the performance could 
not well have been surpassed. That night, our monotonous fare 
was varied, and for once at least we ate mutton-chops. 



The Maryland Campaign 51 

Late in the night, the infantry and artillerJ^ having quietly 
moved towards the Virginia shore, we followed them with as lit- 
tle noise as possible, taking the direct road to Shepardstown. On 
this march at one point, we came to a big cut in the pike with 
steep and high sloping embankments on each side. A few men 
had chosen to ride along a narrow path above one of these em- 
bankments. I could dimly see the horses and riders moving high 
above me along that path, and presently, one of them — Tom 
Wheelwright — under whose horse's feet the edge of the em- 
bankment had given way, came sliding, struggling, falling into 
the road, startling us and interrupting our march. We had no 
thought but that both horse and rider were killed, or badly hurt, 
but they were found to be unhurt. Wheelwright, though un- 
harmed in body, was from his muddy slide a fit subject for the 
cleansing waters of the Potomac through which we soon rode. 



CHAPTER VIII 

ENGAGEMENTS AT MOUNTSVILLE, ALDIE, AND UNION 

'T^ HE month of October, 1862, was passed in the Shenandoah 
"*■ Valley, near the Potomac, by Stuart's Cavalry with little 
of importance occurring save the daring expedition into Penn- 
sylvania and around McClellan's army, from which the men 
engaged returned on the 13th, laden with plunder, without 
having lost a single man, — a feat quite unparalleled in modern 
warfare. On the 30th of October, the division crossed the Blue 
Ridge, and bivouacked in London County, near Bloomfield. 

On the following morning, to borrow the language of 
Stuart: ''Having ascertained during the night that there was a 
force of the enemy at Mountsville, where the Smickersville turn- 
pike crosses Goose Creek, I started with the command for that 
point. Pursuing an unfrequented road, I succeeded in sur- 
prising the enemy, who were in force of about one hundred, and 
dispersing the whole without difficulty, killed and captured 
nearly the whole number, among the former Captain Gore, of 
the First Rhode Island Cavalry. * * * i^ the camp cap- 
tured at Mountsville, several flags, numbers of saddles, valises, 
blankets, oil cloths, and other valuable articles, were captured, 
which the enemy had abandoned in their hasty flight. * * * 
The attack was made by the Ninth Virginia in front, supported 
by the Third." 

Brig. Gen. Geo. D. Bayard, U. S. A., commanding Cavalry 
Brigade near Aldie with reference to this affair said : "The 
major of the Rhode Island Cavalry reports the loss of a captain 
and most of his pickets," and also, "I regret to say that Captain 
Sawyer is badly wounded, and I left about eight men on the 
field as I was unable to bring them away." 

The following letter written three days after the occurrences 
to which it relates, presents some of the particulars of this excit- 
ing affair: 

"Near Piedmont Station, Fauquier, Va. 

"November 3d, 1862. 
"Dearest M.:— 

"Captain Murphy is going home this morning and though I 
arti much hurried, I cannot allow so good an opportunity to 

52 



Engagements at Mountsville, Aldie^ and Union 53 

pass without making an effort to send you a letter. I am now 
sitting in F.'s covered wagon where I have been since early 
yesterday morning, having been compelled to adopt this means 
of travelling because of a severe sickness which attacked me 
night before last. I am now feeling as well as usual, though 
yesterday I was in great pain all day, and suffered from a burn- 
ing fever. The attack was caused, I think, by exposure to the 
sun for two days without eating, and afterwards partaking too 
freely of fresh beef without salt and clammy wheat bread baked 
in the ashes. 

"Yesterday, our wagon train moved about twenty-five miles 
from our encampment near Union in Londown to this point, 
leaving our cavalry to resist the advance of that of the Yankees. 
Our regiment is now, in consequence, some distance from us. 

"For the last four days, we have been constantly fighting. 
On Friday last, we accomplished quite a feat. Our brigade, 
with our squadron in front attacked a superior force of the 
enemy and fought them for several hours. Lieut. Robinson of 
our company with eight men having the fleetest horses first 
charged the Yankee picket and captured them all, — seven in 
number. Then Captain Pratt, at the head of our squadron 
pushed rapidly on to the headquarters of the pickets where there 
were three companies encamped. When the Yanks saw us 
coming, they attempted to mount and form ranks, but as their 
first notification of our coming was the sound of our horses' 
feet and the dust they raised, of course, we were upon them 
before they could prepare to resist us. Many of them surren- 
dered without attempting to run. The remainder darted down 
the pike and across the field with all the celerity it was possible 
their steeds could make. Our squadron became divided, some of 
the men pursuing the enemy in the field, the others those that 
took down the pike. Owing to the superior running qualities 
of our horses, we overtook a good many of them and killed or 
wounded a number of others. The cha^e continued until the 
few remaining of the flying enemy, led us within rifle shot of 
their brigade encampment when a halt was made and we waited 
for the rest of our troops to arrive. 

"The Fourth Regiment was the first to come up, and they 
were ordered ahead, and charged the Yankees in their encamp- 
ment, but found, I think, that with their artillery they held 



54 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

too strong a position for us to dislodge them. After this, there 
was heavy firing by sharpshooters on each side, and when our 
artillery reached the field a duel of cannon; but without im- 
portant results. 

"There was but one man wounded in our regiment — John 
Rust of our company — a brave young man and good soldier. 
The ball passed through his boot and leg, splintering a small 
bone. 

"We returned to our encampment at night with fifty-nine 
prisoners, as many horses and saddles, many pistols and sabres 
and a good lot of overcoats and other clothing, besides three 
captured guidons. F. got a fine horse and saddle. I exchanged 
saddles with a Yankee's horse, I captured, and secured with the 
saddle a fine overcoat, new trousers, two oil cloths, two new 
shirts, three pairs of socks, pair of drawers, pair of buckskin 
gloves, cap cover, pins, needles, supply of thread and cotton, 
buttons, combs, matches, sweetoil, soap, salve, painkiller (which 
came in well on yesterday), writing-case, pens, ink, and paper, 
three blank books, tin box of salt and — but Captain Murphy 
is starting and I must close. 

"The fight day before yesterday between Philamont and 
Union and again on yesterday resulted in but little. Love to all. 

"Hastily yours, 

"W." 

The engagement or skirmish mentioned in this letter as occur- 
ring near Union, resulted in more than was known at the date 
it was written. McClellan's army had at the time crossed the 
Potomac east of the mountains, and a strong force of cavalry 
and infantry was moving to ascertain whether or not Lee's army 
was advancing eastward, and Stuart's aim was to cover Lee's 
movement. The Federal troops engaged in this reconnoisance 
were Pleasanton's division of cavalry and a brigade of infantry 
and battery, under Col. J. W. Hoffman. Stuart prepared to op- 
pose their advance by posting much of the cavalry, dismounted, 
behind stone fences, and by advantageously stationing Major 
John Pelham's artillery, which became very quickly and effec- 
tively engaged. On no other field did the gallant Pelham appear 
to us who supported his guns on the field, to a greater advantage. 
The rapidity and accuracy of his fire elicited rounds of hearty 



Engagements at Mountsville, Aldie, and Union 55 

cheering from those of us who could see its effects. Once dur- 
ing the day, he dashed forward with two of his guns at a gallop 
far beyond our line and through an open field, and delivered his 
fire close to the enemy's line. We were in deepest concern lest a 
sudden charge by the Federal cavalry might capture his pieces 
before we could reach him, but they only seemed dazed and dis- 
concerted by the unwonted boldness of his action. 

General Pleasanton in his report of this day's operations has 
paid high praise to Pelham in saying: "These woods in our pos- 
session was subjected to such a fire of grape and canister from 
the enemy that I withdrew my skirmishers and sent to General 
Pleasanton for a piece of artillery. * * in this affair our 
loss was 2 men killed and one commissioned officer and twelve 
men wounded." Col. J. W. Hoffman also testifies to the effec- 
tiveness of this young cannoneer's guns: "As we advanced on the 
enemy, they again opened on us with shell, one of which struck 
the line of the Seventh Indiana, killing the color-sergeant and one 
corporal, and wounding a number of others." Again: "As vve 
were crossing an open field a shell struck the line of the Fifty- 
sixth Pennsylvania Volunteers killing two men of Company G, 
and mortally wounding two others." 

The five men killed and twenty-three wounded were the re- 
sults of the artillery fire. Well did Stuart in his report to Lee 
say: "Major Pelham, directing one of the shots himself at the 
color-bearer of an infantry regiment struck him down at a dis- 
tance of 800 yards. * * The Stuart Horse Artillery and 
its gallant commander exhibited a skill and courage which I 
have never seen surpassed. On this occasion, I was more than 
ever struck with that extraordinary coolness and mastery of the 
situation which more eminently characterized this youthful offi- 
cer than any other artillerist who has attracted my attention." 



CHAPTER IX 

WATCHING THE ENEMY's APPROACH AT PORT ROYAL AND CAP- 
TURING A SQUADRON AT LEEDSTOWN 



o 



N November I2th, 1862, our cavalry brigade were on the 
march from Culpeper county towards Fredericksburg, and 
it became known to us that the Federal army was moving to oc- 
cupy that place before Lee could get into position to prevent it. 
The weather was unusually cold, and several inches of snow fell 
as we were marching. Having reached the vicinity of Fredericks- 
burg, we made but short delay, and were hastened on down the 
river road leading to Port Royal. It was made evident by the 
rapidity with which our march was urged that apprehensions 
were felt that an attempt would be made by a part at least of 
Burnside's troops to effect a crossing at Port Royal. When our 
regiment reached the point where the roads cross each other un- 
der the hills south of the town, I was directed to take a small 
detail of men to reconnoitre and establish a picket-post. Two 
men having been sent forward to ascertain if any of the enemy 
were in the place, the detail followed on to the centre of the vil- 
lage where we dismounted and picketed our horses, and then pro- 
ceeded, as secretly as possible, to the river-bank, without discov- 
ering any hostile signs on the opposite side. 

We perceived at once that our situation was an exposed one, 
there being no means of concealment or shelter, save such as 
were furnished by two or three trees which stood near the bank 
several feet apart. While deliberating how to provide some 
means of shelter in the event of being fired on by sharpshooters, 
we saw a squadron of cavalry make their appearance in Port 
Conway, nearly opposite us, and several of them ride across the 
spacious grounds of Mr. C. Turner in the direction of his house. 
Their free and easy motions and unconcerned air so moved upon 
the men who were with me that they opened their carbines on 
them, at which they wheeled and galloped in another direction. 
Immediately afterwards, one or two cannon, of the presence of 
which we had been hitherto entirely unconscious, were placed in 
position near the Turner mansion or more strictly near the site 

56 



Watching the Enemy's Approach at Port Royal 57 

of the old Conway house in which James Madison was born 
(Belle Grove), and at the sight of these, our little squad left 
without standing on the order of our going. We succeeded in 
reaching and mounting our horses without hearing the whiz- 
zing note of bomb or ball. 

As we galloped back to find a place of safety for our horses, 
a solid shot passed over our heads and struck a small house be- 
side the street, the iron ball making a clattering noise, as if in 
contact with a cupboard of plates, dishes, cups, and saucers, and 
scattering fragments of plaster and splinters. The occupants of 
the house were several negro women and children, how engaged 
at the time of the crash, I know not, but the manner of their 
escape through the front door with rushing, leaping, squeezing 
screaming, formed a scene never to be forgotten. 

The appearance of the Federal cavalry and artillery at Port 
Conway was a diversion, or feint, to weaken Lee's force at Fred- 
ericksburg, and Early's division was sent by him to Port Royal 
in consequence of it. 

For several days after Early's arrival, we were encamped near 
Carrington's battery, which had been organized at Charlottes- 
ville and contained several masters of arts of the University of 
Virginia and other finely educated young men among its mem- 
bers. They were cultured, scholarly, genial, and sociable, and 
it was with regret that we parted with them, under orders to 
make our camp farther down the river in the vicinity of Lloyds 
in Essex county. 

The establishment of picket camps by the enemy on the op- 
posite side of the river as far down as Leedstown, and their 
frequent reconnoitering and foraging parties causing alarm and 
dread still farther down the Northern Neck, much disturbed 
us while at Lloyds, especially those of us whose homes were 
over there. However, it seemed to us a happy circumstance to 
get into Essex, where we were able to obtain corn and provender 
for our horses as well as many provisions and delicacies for our- 
selves. 

During the week of our encampment in Essex our duties were 
not onerous and the men longed for some diversion to break 
the monotony of their life. The duties of the regiment were to 
guard the river shore with an extended line of pickets. These 
pickets were frequently aroused and entertained by the passage 



58 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

up the river of Federal gunboats and transports, communicat- 
ing with Burnside's army at Fredericksburg. Frequently, also, 
an exchange of rifle shots was made with the Federal pickets 
on the Northern Neck shore of the river. 

Many men of this regiment had their homes and families 
on that side of the river, and the sight of the Union horsemen 
riding unchecked over the roads and fields so familiar to them 
asoused in many breasts an int^se desire to cross the river and 
strike the enemy a blow. Into this feeling, none entered more 
heartily than the Colonel himself. Accordingly, scouts were 
dispatched to ascertain the enemy's exact position, strength, dis- 
position of sentinels, and also to search for boats sufficient to 
carry over several hundred troops. An application was at the 
same time forwarded to headquarters for permission to cross 
the river with three hundred men. 

The scouts returned promptly, having ascertained that one 
cavalry regiment — the Eighth Pennsylvania — was on outpost 
duty, encamped at Greenlaw's, in King George, and picketing 
the river as far down as Layton's Ferry. One squadron, quar- 
tered at Leedstown, held the extreme left of their line. The 
scouts carefully noted the houses in which the men of this squad- 
ron slept, where their horses were picketed, and how their 
sentinels were posted at night. Only two boats — a large bat- 
teau and a skiff — could be secured, and these were duly provid- 
ed with oars and concealed in a marshy creek, a mile or two 
above Leedstown, in readiness for use. 

These preliminaries having been arranged, the necessary per- 
mit from General Lee was awaited impatiently. It came on 
the first of December, but forbade that more than one hundred 
men should be allowed on the expedition, or an officer holding 
rank above that of major. In consequence, the purpose of at- 
tacking the entire Federal regiment was abandoned, and a plan 
arranged for capturing the squadron at Leedstown. 

The execution of this plan was entrusted to Major Thomas 
Waller, as cool and intrepid an officer as ever wore stars on his 
collar. To the call for volunteers, more than a hundred re- 
sponded from the regiment. As the point of attack was in 
Westmoreland, from which county Company C hailed, the men 
of this company offered to go almost in a body. 

On reaching the shore of the little creek in which the boats 



Watching the Enemy's Approach at Port Royal 59 

were concealed, about dark, December i, 1862, it was found 
that their capacity was much less than had been supposed. 
Thirty-six men seemed as many as the larger boat would carry, 
and only fourteen could be accommodated in the skiff. Major 
Waller commanded the batteau and Lieutenant G. W. Beale 
the skiff. The night was cold and dark, and it was necessary 
to maintain the strictest silence. The boats were rowed noise- 
lessly out into the river, the officers in charge having a precon- 
certed plan to rendezvous at a given point on the other shore 
in the event of becoming separated in the dark. This proved a 
wise precaution, for the boats became quickly lost to each other. 
The skiff' being light and easily managed, shot straight across 
and quickly reached the opposite shore. The larger boat drifted 
down with the tide, and grounded on a sand-bar far out in the 
river. It was necessary for a number of the men to get out into 
the icy-water, waist deep, and push the craft over the bar by 
main force. A landing was made by Major Waller's party 
half a mile lower down the river than had been contemplated. 
Leaving two men as guards to the batteau, he joined the party 
under Lieutenant Beale at a straw stack, the place of rendezvous 
that had been agreed upon. 

Here a number of details of scouts were made to proceed, as 
quietly and stealthily as possible, for the purpose of capturing 
the enemy's picket-guards. There were six of these, at as many 
different points; and it needed much adroitness and boldness of 
action to secure them all without an alarm being made. The 
plan was for two men to get in rear of each picket, and two to 
advance upon them quietly in the dark. If one set failed to 
bag the game, it was thought the other would. And so it proved. 
The pickets were captured without breaking the stillness of the 
night with the faintest alarm. 

Having secured the outer guards, it was next necessary to 
capture the reserve guards, who were fifteen in number, and 
occupied a vacant store in Leedstown, where they slept on their 
arms, having their horses saddled and bridled, close at hand. 
The writer of this account led the party advancing to the cap- 
ture of this reserve, having at his side "Pete" Stewart, an old 
Mexican soldier, and a tried and trusty scout. From the shadow 
of an adjacent house as we drew near to the store the form of 
the sentinel was described under the porch. The moon was just 



6o A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

rising, throwing a gleam on the river, the sound of whose flow- 
ing only disturbed the perfect stillness of the night. Our pause 
was but for a moment, when a dash was made for the steps lead- 
ing up to the door of the store. The startled sentined ran for 
the steps, too, without pausing to fire his carbine. He had 
nearly reached the uppermost step, when "Pete" Stewart, 
grasping him by his coat-tail, pulled him back. The Union 
horsemen in the store were made prisoners by the time they had 
well cast aside the blankets under which they had been cosily 
sleeping. Indeed, so rapid and sudden had we fallen on the 
unsuspecting sleepers that some of them were assisted by us in 
waking, by having their blankets pulled off them by our own 
hands. 

In this store at the time of our entrance, were two Con- 
federate prisoners, members of the Fifteenth Virginia Cavalry, 
who had been captured the previous day, and also a citizen (and 
his goods), caught running the blockade. The joy of these men 
at their unexpected release was so great that it was needful to 
suppress its demonstration, lest the enemy near by should hear it. 

Having placed the prisoners and their horses under guard, 
Major Waller's next aim was to surround and capture the 
main body of the enemy, who occupied the residence of Dr. 
Thomas Taylor (the assistant surgeon of the Ninth Virginia 
Regiment), a quarter of a mile distant. The march towards 
this building was made as noiselessly as possible. When yet 
distant a hundred yards or more, a bright fire was seen in the 
yard, and a sentinel pacing to and fro on his beat in front of it. 
It seemed as we drew nearer that he would not detect our ap- 
proach in time to give an alarm, when, suddenly, "Bang!" went 
the report of the gun of one of our men, whose excitement had 
quite overcome his discretion. Instantly, the Federal sentinel 
returned the shot and rushed for the main building. 

No time was now lost by Major Waller in surrounding the 
dwelling and smaller houses. The demand to surrender was an- 
swered from doors and windows by small volleys, which fired in 
the dark, did no harm. With the aid of a gun-barrel and a few 
rails the doors of the main building were forced open, when a 
general surrender at once followed. 

Captain Samuel Wilson, a soldier of fine appearance and 
splendid physique, commanded the Federal squadron, and it 



Watching the Enemy's Approach at Port Royal 6 1 

looked for a moment as if he had determined to die, rather than 
yield. When he at length yielded up his weapon, and was made 
a prisoner, his face wore an air of resolute defiance, mingled with 
mortified pride. 

When the prisoners had been collected it was found that for- 
ty-nine had been here captured, with their horses, saddles, bri- 
dles, arms, and accoutrements. 

The problem now was how to get the prisoners and horses 
across the river, which was nearly a mile in width. A large 
lighter, capable of carrying one hundred men, or more, was 
found near the water's edge at Leedstown, and this was quickly 
launched. The prisoners were put into it, with a suitable guard 
of men, and the boat was speedily poled over (as the watermen 
say), to the Essex shore. 

The approach of daylight, and the prospect of a gunboat's ap- 
pearance made the passage of the captured horses a hazardous 
undertaking. It was decided to take the horses two miles higher 
up the river, where the stream was narrower and the banks 
higher, where better security was offered against gunboats, and a 
better opportunity could be found for swimming over the horses. 
The two boats were rowed up to the latter point, where, after 
the arrival of the men with the horses, the saddles, blankets, and 
arms were put in the boats, and the horses were all lashed to- 
gether by their halter-reins. In this way, strung together in a 
long line, they were forced after the large boat into the river, 
and were made to swim across. 

The water was a full half-mile in width, and had on it a 
skim of ice near the shore. The prolonged bath must have been 
very severe to the horses, but they stood it well. All were safely 
landed, save one, which, being lean, was benumbed by the cold 
water, and when its feet touched the mud on the Essex side, it 
would make no further effort, and was left to perish. 

By sunrise, the expedition had been safely landed, the boats 
concealed, and the men, having mounted their horses, and lead- 
ing the captured ones, were on the march to the camp at Lloyds. 

The colonel of the regiment to soothe, in part, his disappoint- 
ment in not being permitted to cross the river himself, had taken 
position advantageously on the bank, with a section of artillery 
under command of Lieutenant Betts, intending to arrest the 
progress of any gunboat that might chance to appear, and en- 



62 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

danger the expedition. From hi^ station he listened through 
the still hours, anxiously, and not in vain, for the sounds of vol- 
leys and yells that would tell of the successful assault of his men. 

Only one casualty occurred among the enemy, and that the 
painful wounding of a man under the eye. 

The boldness and success of the enterprise were recognized 
and commended in general orders, issued from the headquar- 
ters of the army; and the disaster to the Federal regiment is 
mentioned in the official history of the Pennsylvania regiments, 
published by that State. Major H. B. McClellan, in The Life 
and Campaigns of General /. E. B. Stuart, briefly refers to the 
affair in a sentence, in which the Boston printer gives the name 
of our major, erroneously, as Weller. 

Of the participants in this nocturnal raid, I can now recall 
but 'few. Among them was Major R. Bird Lewis, the late 
president of the Confederate Veteran Association of Washing- 
ton, D. C, who was a sergeant at the time, and the only man on 
our side who was wounded. Dr. Gordon E. Bowie, late of 
Richmond county, was one of the men who took an icy bath in 
shoving the batteau over the sand-bar. William R. Rust, of 
Colonial Beach, was active in forcing open a door of the house, 
where the chief danger was met. Lawrence Washington, of 
Oak Grove, rendered valuable service in surprising and captur- 
ing the most important of the pickets, and to him the Union 
captain surrendered his pistol in the last encounter. 

Private L. L. Jett was present in this action and incautiously 
fired his gun at the sentinel and so gave warning of our ap- 
proach. The capture of the Federal squadron was made the 
subject of an official investigation, and an elaborate report was 
published with a diagram of the post at Leedstown, the river, 
and the point at which our crossing was made. Major Wilson, 
commanding the captured squadron at the time, was exonerated 
of all blame for the disaster, and was subsequently promoted and 
proved a most efficient and meritorious officer. 



CHAPTER X 

^ THE BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG 

np HE battle of Fredericksburg, on December 13-14, 1862, 
^ to an observer on the heights on either side of the Rap- 
pahannock River near that citj^ much resembled two battles 
waged at the same time. The smoke and noise of one of these 
contests was in the cit)^ itself and on the Marye Heights above 
it; the smoke and thunder of the other were four miles below 
on the Hamilton crest and the plain below it. It fell to my lot 
to witness the last-named part of this terrific conflict of arms, 
and I here record my impression and recollections of it: 

The cavalry brigade of General W. H. F. Lee was encamped 
near Lloyds, in Essex County, when, on the nth of December, 
they set out, with well-filled haversacks and cartridge boxes, 
for the field of this great battle. They reached the vicinity of 
Massaponax Run in the afternoon of the 12th, and halted for 
the night. Their bivouacs were made near the Port Royal 
Road, on either side of which grew a row of cedar trees. The 
branches cut from these trees afforded many of the calvarymen 
soft and springy mattresses, as it were, on which their blankets 
were spread, and which, raising them above the two or three 
inches of snow which had fallen during their march, gave them 
cozy and comfortable couches for slumber for the night. 

The march during nearly all of this day to many had been 
enlivened, and to others solemnized, by the ominous roar of 
artillery in the direction of Fredericksburg, and all felt assured 
that a terrific battle had been begun between the armies of 
Burnside and Lee. The morale of the Southern army at this 
time was superb, and the cavalry were as full of hope and en- 
thusiasm as the infantry. Our march this day was full of eager 
expectancy and assured confidence in a coming victory, and in 
this state of feeling our tired bodies sank to sleep at nightfall. 

On the morning of the 13th, at a very early hour, before the 
horses and men had time to be fed, we were mounted and pro- 
ceeded in an exceedingly dense fog along the Port Royal Road 
to one of the *'Smithfield" or A. Bernard's large fields on the 

63 



64 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

side next to the river, and into tliis we entered and formed in 
companies behind one of Major Pelham's Napoleons. We had 
not yet formed into position before this gun opened the battle 
for the day. It was quickly perceived that we had gone into 
a lion's mouth, because of the close proximity of heavy masses 
of Federal infantry and four batteries, which began to return 
Pelham's fire. Very serious fears were felt that our gun could 
not be extricated from its dangerous position, and that the 
Federal cannoneers, by getting our range, would cut deadly 
swaths through our ranks. Two circumstances saved us: one 
was the intrepid hardihood of Pelham, with his one gun and its 
rapid fire, and the other the fortunate fog, which wrapped us 
from view in its dense and friendly folds. 

When Pelham withdrew his gun across the road and sought 
a position on higher ground, we followed and formed a line be- 
yond the hill in his rear. A heavy fire of artillery was now 
directed against this hill, and shot and shell passed over us 
with uncomfortable frequency and nearness of approach. The 
fog was now lifting, and the sun, breaking through the mist, 
began to shine on the dark lines of the Federal troops and their 
bright muskets. 

The soldiers of the Union presented an imposing and formid- 
able array. Near where the Port Royal Road intersected the 
gently rising plain, they were arranged in three separate lines, 
and moved forward with well-dressed ranks, their banners 
floating in the air, and sixty or more pieces of artillery thunder- 
ing on their flanks. Extending down the Port Royal road on 
their left was Doubleday's Division, disposed, as it were, to 
protect them from attack on that flank. 

It is quite probable the pick and flower of Burnside's army 
marched in this magnificent battle array. Franklin's grand 
division of veterans was there; the corps commanded by Smith 
and Reynolds were there; there Meade led his fine division in 
the center, and Birney followed him with his: Gibbons held 
position on the right, and Stoneman co-operated at the head of 
a corps. Generals Daniel Sickles and Joe Hooker mingled with 
other brave and distinguished general officers, as this warlike 
host, moved towards the wooded heights, a mile or more distant. 

Assisting this formidable movement, were numerous heavy 
field guns planted at various commanding points on the Stafford 



The Battle of Fredericksburg 65 

hills beyond the Rappahannock, which hurled their missiles in 
various directions, where the Confederates were supposed to 
lurk in readiness to meet this threatening and powerful dem- 
onstration. 

It i^ not easy to overestimate the importance which the Fed- 
eral commander-in-chief and many of his subordinate command- 
ers attached to this attack on the Hamilton Heights or a part 
of the general plan of the battle of Fredericksburg. If these 
hills were gained and held, Burnside was confident Lee could 
not retain his position on Marye Heights, and his army would 
be forced to a perilous retreat. In his general order he said : 
"Holding these two heights, with the heights near Hamilton's, 
will, we hope, compel the enemy to evacuate the whole ridge 
between these points." Lee, on his part, fully appreciated the 
strategic importance of these heights, and Jackson's Corps and 
D. H. Hills' Division had been hastened to assist in their de- 
fense. Opportunely enough, they reached the ground in good 
time to be of service at the critical moment of need. While 
the Federal regiments and batteries were advancing, Lee rode 
to that part of his lines which they threatened, and held an 
interview with Jackson, Stuart, and A. P. Hill. W. F. Dun- 
away, captain and adjutant at the time, of the Forty-seventh 
Virginia, one of A. P. Hill's regiments, says: "Before the battle 
began. General Lee, inspecting the disposition of his forces, 
rode lip to where we stood, and, dismounting from 'Traveler,' 
handed the bridle to an orderly." His eagle eye surveyed the 
masses of his approaching antogonists and his own good gray 
lines, disposed to meet them. 

During the entire march of the Federals from near the river, 
Major Pelham, with one or more guns of his horse artillery, 
first in one position and then in another, poured shot and shell 
into their ranks. It was intensely exciting to watch the effect 
of his firing, as from time to time the shells struck the enemy's 
lines, and, bursting, created no little confusion. Very soon, 
Pelham's guns were reinforced by two of Lindsey Walker's 
batteries, and the Federal guns opened on them with increasing 
vigor. The duel was fast and furious. 

The Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad, in 
its course northward, soon after reaching Hamilton's Crossing, 
bears to the left and runs for about two miles parallel with the 



66 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

river, on high and wooded ground. The line of the road formed 
in general the line of Lee's defense, and here, in silence and con- 
cealment, the troops of Jackson and Hill awaited the Federal as- 
sault. The artillery of these generals was held in check until 
the men in blue came within eight hundred yards of the guns, 
and then opened on them a simultaneous and murderous fire. At 
points in the advancing lines, there was, under these volleys, 
wavering and faltering; but, as a rule, the troops advanced 
steadily and firmly, and before long, on the wooded hills and 
along the railroad and beyond, the fire of musketry, attested a 
severe and stubborn encounter. 

A gap having occurred between the Confederate brigade of 
Lane and Archer, some of Franklin's Regiments pressed through 
and gained the wooded hills beyond the railroad, necessitating 
the forming of a new line of battle by Archer's men, who, with 
Thomas's Brigade, assailed the Federals with intense vigor and 
turned them back in flight. Gibbons and Mead's commands also 
pushed their way beyond the railroad, but were soon repulsed 
and began to retire in confusion. Some of Reynolds's Regiment 
on approaching the railroad and seeing the Confederate position, 
became panic-stricken and began a rapid retreat. As Berney's 
Division approached the line of fire, their ranks were broken and 
thrown into confusion by masses of Reynolds's troops in tumul- 
tuous flight, who, to borrow General Berney's words: "burst 
through the right wing in pell-mell retreat." Of these demor- 
alized and fugitive men. General Stoneman declares: "Every ef- 
fort was made to rally them, but all to no purpose. Regardless 
of threat and force, and deaf to all entreaties, they sullenly and 
persistently moved to the rear, and were reformed near the bank 
of the river." 

The scene of the morning as the splendid left wing of Burn- 
side's Army marched to meet the regiments of Jackson and Hill, 
was all changed in the afternoon. The bold front, the advanc- 
ing lines, the fluttering standards, were all changed, and a mot- 
ley disordered mass rushed madly for safety towards the river, 
with thirty or more Confederate guns pushing forward and 
pouring shot and shell after them. 

Much of the Federal artillery, with the troops supporting it, 
did not participate in the panic, but continued to fire towards the 
hills with unyielding tenacity of purpose. In doing so, they met 



The Battle of Fredericksburg 67 

a heavy fire from the Confederate guns on the hills, and it was 
very exciting at times to see the falling horses and exploding 
limber-chests which this fire caused. 

Most of the retreating troops towards evening disappeared be- 
yond the Port Royal Road, and some of them in the eagerness 
of their flight after reaching the river and making good their es- 
cape over it, cut the pontoon bridge loose, and caused no little 
apprenhension and dismay among their comrades left on the 
Southern side of the river, lest an assault should be made on 
them by the troops of Jackson and Hill before their means of es- 
cape could be replaced. 

The action of this day having ended, our commanding ofllicers 
had under consideration the advisability of a night attack on the 
demoralized Federals, and word was passed around among us 
as to how the assault would be conducted and with what weap- 
ons. Every man's coat sleeve, it was decided, was to be removed 
from one arm, which would enable us in the darkness to distin- 
guish friends from foes. The martial genius of Jackson ap- 
proved this night attack, we were told, but General Lee felt that 
it would sacrifice the lives of many females and other noncom- 
batants in Fredericksburg, and withheld the order. 

By me, personally, this memorable and important engage- 
ment was more enjoyed than any other of the war. It offered a 
clearer view of the field of battle than any other; nowhere else 
could I see so many cannon pitted against each other in a furious 
duel, and nowhere else did so many of the enemy appear advanc- 
ing to the charge and then retiring in tumultuous disorder. No 
bullet, so far as I recall, whizzed near me, and no solid shot or 
shell took effect in our ranks. Seated on my horse in the rear 
of one or more of our guns, I was not unlike the scriptural 
horse that "smelleth the battle from afar, the thunder of the 
captains and the shouting." 

On high ground, near the railroad, not far from Hamilton's 
Crossing, the decisive point of the battle on Lee's right, stands a 
pyramidal pile of rough granite blocks to mark it. I never see 
it from the window of a passing car without feeling stirring 
memories of Gregg, Cobb, Coleman, Robinson and other men 
whom I was want to see, whose voices were hushed and their 
eyes forever dimmed on this victorious field. 



CHAPTER XI 

CAVALRY OPERATIONS UNDER W. H. F. LEE DURING THE BATTLE 
AT CHANCELLORSVILLE 

'^rO battle, probably, in which the Federal and Confederate 
-^^ armies were engaged reflected more lustre on Southern gen- 
eralship and the valor of the Southern soldiers than the bloody 
struggle of Chancellorsville. The events which took place on 
that historic field and at Salem Church, May 1-3, 1863, were 
of a nature so important and brilliant as to eclipse and obscure 
the co-operating movements and detached services performed at 
the time in connection with the two contending armies. The 
operations of the cavalry having covered a wide extent of terri- 
tory and issued in numerous skirmishes without any regular 
battle, have claimed but slight attention in comparison with the 
desperate fighting and signal successes on the chief scenes of 
action. 

And yet, according to the well laid plan of the Federal com- 
mander, the cavalry of the A.rmy of the Potomac were carefully 
prepared, cautiously despatched and confidently expected to add 
in no small measure to the success of that army. This force, 
comprising all the cavalry under General Hooker save one 
brigade, were in two bodies, one under General George Stone- 
man and the other under General W. W. Averell, and were 
designed to operate on two distinct lines. The destination and 
objects of the movements were set forth in orders from General 
Hooker as early as April 13th. These orders are noteworthy, 
as showing not only the work assigned to the cavalry, but the 
spirit and manner in which it was to be done. "You will 
march," so the orders read, *'on the 13th instant with all your 
available force except one brigade, for the purpose of turning 
the enemy's position on his left, and of throwing your command 
between him and Richmond and isolating him from his supplies, 
checking his retreat, and inflicting on him every possible injury 
which will tend to his discomfiture and defeat." * * * "jf 
the enemy should endeavor to retire by Culpeper and Gordons- 
ville, you will endeavor to hold your force in his front and 

68 



Cavalry Operations Under W . H. F. Lee 69 

harass him day and night, unceasingly. If you cannot cut off 
from his columns large slices, the general desires that you will 
not fail to take small ones. Let your watchword be fight, and 
let all your orders be fight, fight, fight, bearing in mind that 
time is as valuable to the general as rebel carcasses. It is not 
in the power of the rebels to oppose you with more than 5,000 
sabers and those badly mounted, and after they leave Culpeper 
without forage or rations. Keep them from Richmond and 
sooner or later they must fall in our hands. * * * Jf dg. 
volves upon you, general, to take the initiative in the forward 
movement of this grand army, and on you and your noble com- 
mand must depend in a great measure the extent and brilliancy 
of our success." The orders closed with this emphatic caution: 
''Bear in mind that celerity, audacity and resolution are every- 
thing in war, and especially it is the case with the command 
you have and the enterprise upon which you are about to em- 
bark." 

Such were the orders under which, two weeks or more later 
than was first proposed. Generals Stoneman and Averell crossed 
the Rappahannock from Fauquier into Culpeper County, and 
bivouacked near the above river. The passage was made on 
April 29th and that evening, as General Stoneman states, the 
division and brigade commanders assembled together and "we 
spread our maps and had a thorough understanding of what 
we were to do and where we were to go." 

Early on the following morning, Stoneman with his com- 
mand set out for the Rapidan at Raccoon Ford and a ford be- 
low, and pushed on without serious opposition to destroy the 
Central Railroad, the James River Canal and the Richmond 
and Fredericksburg road. 

Averell moved towards Brandy Station, Culpeper, and Rap- 
idan Station, for the purpose of masking Stoneman's movement 
and cutting Lee's communications towards Gordonsville. His 
instructions said: "In the vicinity of Culpeper you will be likely 
to come against Fitzhugh Lee's brigade of cavalry, consisting 
of about 2,000 men, which it is expected that you will, be able 
to disperse and destroy without delay to your advance. At 
Gordonsville, the enemy have a small provost guard of infantry, 
which it is expected you will destroy, if it can be done without 
delaying your forward movement." 



70 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

General Averell's command consisted of the two brigades of 
his division, Davis's brigade of Pleasanton's division and Tid- 
ball's battery, numbering in all about 4,000 men, while opposed 
to him on the line from Brandy to Rappahannock Station was 
General W. H. F. Lee with two regiments (Ninth and Thir- 
teenth Virginia Cavalry) and one gun. 

General Lee with his small force, fell back before Averell's 
advance, one squadron only being kept near the enemy to retard 
his progress, until the Rapidan was crossed, when he disposed 
his men and one gun above the ford near the station, to give 
battle if the attempt was made to cross. The approach of the 
enemy was announced by the discharge of his cannon, as also 
by a feeble attempt to cross a ford a mile or two above the 
station. 

The day following. General Lee according to his own re- 
port, was engaged all day with one or two brigades of cavalry. 
One charge made by Colonel Beale with one squadron to draw 
them out, took eighty prisoners, but could not bring them off; 
he w^as pressed very hard. 

The charge thus sententiously stated by General Lee was 
made for the purpose of developing the enemy's strength, and 
was made by a rapid trot to the river and dash through it, 
under the fire of the enemy's sharp-shooters, who were forced 
back on their main line a half mile or more distant. Nothing 
but the temporary confusion and surprise caused by the sudden- 
ness of this dash permitted the squadron to wheel and retreat 
successfully. 

Two men of the Ninth Regiment, M. U. F. and J. N. 
Wright (brothers), borne too far by the impetuosity of their 
charge, or overtaken in retreating, were made prisoners, and the 
younger one was basely shot and severely wounded after his 
surrender. The elder of the two, M. U. F., was taken into the 
presence of General Averell, who questioned him closely as 
to the troops opposed to him, their number, etc. Wright re- 
plied to the inquiries that there was no cavalry in front of him 
except W. H. F. Lee's brigade, but that the trains had been 
hurrying down all the morning from Gordonsville crowded 
with infantry and artillery. Precisely what effect this answer 
had on the mind of General Averell, cannot be definitely stated. 
All the circumstances seem to indicate that it had great weight, 



Cavalry Operations Under W . H. F. Lee 71 

for no attempt was made to push his command farther. 

At 6.30 P. M. that day, the day of the Chancellorsville 
battle, General Hooker sent a dispatch to Averell, through Cap- 
tain Chandler, which read in part: "I am directed by the Ma- 
jor General commanding, to inform you that he does not under- 
stand what you are doing at Rappahannock Station." To this 
message, Averell replied at 7.20 A. M. next morning: "I have 
the honor to state in reply that I have been engaged with the cav- 
alry of the enemy at that point, and in destroying communica- 
tions." On the day following. General Hooker issued an order 
as follows: "Brigadier-General Pleasanton, will assume com- 
mand of the division now commanded by Brigadier-General Av- 
erell. Upon being relieved, Brigadier-General Averell will re- 
port for orders to the Adjutant-General of the army." 

In explanation and justification of the above order. General 
Hooker on May 9th, in a report to the Adjutant-General of the 
army, stated : "General Averell's command numbered about 4,- 
000 sabers and a light battery, a larger cavalry force than can be 
found in the rebel army between Fredericksburg and Richmond, 
and yet that officer seems to have contented himself between 
April 29th, and May 4th, with having marched through Culpep- 
er to Rapidan, a distance of twenty-eight miles, meeting no ene- 
my deserving the name, and from that point reporting to me for 
instructions." 

"I could excuse General Averell in his disobedience if I could 
anywhere discover in his operations a desire to find and engage 
the enemy. I have no disposition to prefer charges against him, 
and in detaching him from this army my object has been to pre- 
vent an active and powerful column from being paralyzed by his 
presence." 

In a report written by General Averell, whilst stung by the 
order relieving him, he explained his delay at Rapidan Station 
on the ground that, "All the intelligence we had been able to 
gather from a captured mail and from various other sources, 
went to show that the enemy believed the Army of the Potomac, 
was advancing over that line, and that Jackson was at Gordons- 
ville with 25,000 men, to resist its approach." When he penned 
that sentence, he must have had well in mind among the intelli- 
gence which he had been able to gather, what young Wright had 
told him. 



72 A Lieiitencmt of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

The two Wrights, named in this c(Jmmunication, are still liv- 
ing (at Oldliam's, Westmoreland County, Va.,) and retain 
vivid recollections of the incidents here recorded in their lives as 
soldiers. It is a pleasure to testify to their singular gallantry as 
soldiers and their substantial worth as citizens. 

While Averell was halting and blundering at the Rapidan and 
incurring the intense displeasure of his superior officers, as has 
been shown, Stoneman with thirteen regiments and six guns, 
forming the brigades of Kilpatrick, Wyndham and Buford, pur- 
sued his way to Louisa Court House, where he divided his com- 
mand into six or seven parties, designed to operate in different 
directions, or at different points in destroying the railroad tracks, 
depots, bridges and culverts, along the Central Road to the junc- 
tion in Hanover and beyond, and also the canal on James River, 
the aqueducts, bridges and boats. Of these various parties, for- 
midable ones were led by Colonel Kilpatrick and Colonel H. 
Davis, who after doing what damage they could to the railroad, 
made their way by different routes and ferries across the Pa- 
munkey and Mattapong rivers, and on May 7th, at 10 A. M., 
to borrow Kilpatrick's words ''found safety and rest under our 
brave old flag within our lines at Gloucester Point." 

Brig. General D. McGregg with his brigade proceeded to de- 
stroy the Central road from Louisa Court House towards the 
South Anna bridge, and Brig. General John Buford set out to 
assist in this destruction, and also to support Colonel Percy 
Wyndham in his attempt to destroy the canal. 

On the third of May, General W. H. F. Lee, no longer 
threatened by Averell, who was that day relieved of his com- 
mand, hastened to Gordonsville, which was now endangered by 
the advance of a position of Stoneman's force. We reached the 
latter place about 11 A. M., and having ascertained that the 
enemy was approaching from Trevillian station, we at once re- 
sumed our march towards that point. As we neared Trevil- 
lian's. Captain Robinson with a part of our company was sent 
ahead to reconnoitre, and we were withdrawn a few rods dis- 
tant from the road to get a short rest. This, however, was de- 
nied us for almost immediately, Robinson's party came back at a 
gallop witli a detachment of the First Maine regiment in pur- 
suit of them. The order was then given to us to charge, and be- 
fore we reached the road some of the Maine men had dashed 



Cavalry Operations Under W . H. F. Lee 73 

up too close to escape, and fell into our hands. Some dispositions 
were made to meet a heavier advance here, but none occurred. 
At this point, my attention was attracted to a Union cavalryman, 
one of tl\e Maine regiment, lying at the foot of a tree, mortally 
wounded, the result of a meeting in the charge with Tom Jett 
of our company. The detachment of Federals met here was 
commanded by Captain Benjamin F. Tucker of the First caval- 
ry, and their loss was one killed, one wounded and twenty-four 
captured. On our side, Lieutenant James Boulware, of Com- 
pany B, made a reckless dash beyond his men, and was captured, 
a circumstance erroneously reported by General Stoneman to 
have occurred at Raccoon Ford. 

From Trevillians, we returned to Gordonsville, and very 
early next morning were mounted and in motion for Columbia 
on James river, where it was reported the Federal cavalry were 
engaged in destroying the canal. Our march was very fatiguing 
to both men and horses, and we reached Palmyra, near the river 
about nightfall only to find that the enemy (Colonel Wynd- 
ham's New Jerseymen) had withdrawn a few hours previously. 
After a brief halt, the order came to mount, and with our 
horse's heads turned back towards the Central Road, we were 
soon on the march again, and what a toilsome, painful march it 
was ! As the hours passed in slow and wearisome procession, the 
soft earth seemed to woo in with a tantalizing persuasiveness to 
pause and recline our aching limbs upon it, but in vain. 

On the succeeding morning when thoughts of the enemy with 
most of us were giving place to thoughts of breakfast, it was an- 
nounced that a Federal picket had been seen nearby. We were 
summoned to prepare for action, and in column of fours began 
the trot. 

A squadron (E and F) preceded us, led by our Major (Tom 
Waller). We followed two hundred yards or less, in their 
rear. Very quickly we saw the men ahead of us flashing their 
sabres in the morning light, and meeting a charge by a Federal 
squadron. The contest was quickly over. When we reached 
the scene of it Waller's men were giving chase to the flying foe, 
or collecting the prisoners, captured horses, arms and accoutre- 
ments. Presently, General W. H. F. Lee rode up, recognized 
the Federal captain Wesley Owens, who had been unhorsed and 
made a prisoner, and engaged him in conversation. While they 



74 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

were talking, a squad of our men rpde in from the right, having 
Captain Owen's lieutenant, Temple Buford, and fifteen men, 
who had been caught before they could escape from their post on 
picket. Two officers and thirty-three men were captured here and 
we discovered that they belonged to the Fifth Regulars, the 
same regiment encountered by us on the raid around McClellan's 
army, and at whose hands Captain Latane had fallen nearly a 
year before. 

General Stoneman in his official report attributes Captain 
Owen's capture to the fact that his horse was shot, which was 
a mistake, since the fine dark mare having escaped injury, was 
ridden for many months afterwards by Major Waller, and be- 
came one of the favorites among the officers' horses of our regi- 
ment. 

We had no further engagements during the memorable bat- 
tle of Chancellorsville, and the enemy having retired beyond the 
Rapidan and Rappahannock, we went into camp beneath the 
beautiful shade of a grove of oaks near the village of Orange, 
and it was here on the twelfth of May, 1863, that we were in- 
formed of the death of General T. J. Jackson, near Guinea's 
in Caroline County. The effect of the announcement wrought 
a change in every man's expression, and threw a solemn gloom 
over the camp. The sun shone less brightly and the shade of 
the trees seemed to cast a sombre gloom. With subdued voices 
and ill suppressed emotion one soldier said to another: "Jackson 
is dead !" 



CHAPTER XII 

A GREi^ FEDERAL RAID IN 1 863 AND HOW IT WAS DEFEATED 

/^ N the 9th of April, 1863, General Joseph Hooker, com- 
^^ manding the Army of the Potomac, had as his guest at his 
headquarters, near Falmouth, President Lincoln, who, on the 
day following, returned to Washington. Hooker wrote him 
on the next day: "I sincerely trust you reached home safely and 
in good time yesterday. We all look back to your visit with 
great satisfaction." 

Among the grave matters discussed by the President and 
General Hooker, was one of supreme interest and importance, 
which contemplated a powerful cavalry raid under General 
George Stoneman, which, by destroying General Lee's supplies 
at Gordonsville and Charlottesville, tearing up the Central and 
Acquia Creek Railroads, and burning the bridges, and at the 
same time threatening Richmond, would force Lee to retreat 
from Fredericksburg and offer opportunity to the Federal army 
to make a concerted attack on his retiring lines with good 
prospects of complete success. These high functionaries agreed 
upon the plan, and on April 13th, orders were issued by Hooker 
directing the movement to begin, and providing that the troops 
should be supplied with eight days' rations and one hundred 
and forty rounds of ammunition for each man, with the injunc- 
tion: "Corps commanders will require every serviceable man 
to march with the columns." 

The force employed in the proposed raid was the cavalry 
corps of Hooker's army, numbering 12,000 men, including six 
light batteries. It was arranged that these troops should march 
up into Fauquier County and cross thence over the Rappa- 
hannock into Culpeper — Davis's Brigade at Freeman's Ford; 
Averell's and Gregg's divisions, at Beverly's Ford ; and Buford's 
reserve brigade, at Rappahannock Bridge. To facilitate these 
crossings, an infantry brigade of the Eleventh Corps, with a 
section of artillery, was sent to the lower Ford (Kelly's) to 
make a feint, and, as the order expressed it, "to prevent any 
communication across the river on the part of the citizens, or 

75 



76 J Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

the enemy from crossing in case they should attempt it." 

In pursuance of the plan of getting Stoneman's force over the 
Rappahannock, a portion of Davis's Brigade was directed to 
proceed along the North Fork of that river and cross it at 
Sulphur Springs, and then, descending the stream, join the re- 
mainder of the brigade near Freeman's Ford. They were to 
cross at Welford's on the night of the thirteenth, and then, by 
sweeping rapidly down the main river, uncover Beverley's 
Ford for the safe crossing of Averell and Gregg. Simultane- 
ously with the passage of these two divisions at the upper ford, 
Buford was directed to press his way across at Rappahannock 
Station, two or three miles below. These well planned strategic 
movements were to signalize the morning of April 14th. 

While this finely equipped and powerful cavalry force was 
marching hopeful and exultant up the Rappahannock, Lieutenant 
Alexander D. Payne, of the Black Horse Troop, commanding 
a Confederate scouting party in Fauquier, hastened to inform 
General William H. F. Lee, at Brandy Station, of the move- 
ment and that alert and watchful officer at once dispatched Cap- 
tain Stith Boiling with his company of sharpshooters to rein- 
force the pickets of the Thirteenth Virginia cavalry at Kelly's 
Ford. Captain Boiling reached the ford before daylight, and 
arranged his men in the rifle pits. About 8 A. M. a regiment 
opened fire on him, and a body of Buford's Cavalry made a 
dash at the ford, but retreated at the first fire from Boiling's 
men, and the attempt to cross at this point was not renewed. 

While this demonstration was engaging Captain Boiling at 
Kelly's Ford, Colonel Kilpatrick made a dash over the ford at 
Rappahannock Station, the pickets from the Thirteenth Regi- 
ment, occupying a blockhouse, being forced to retreat. This 
dash over the ford was materially aided by Lieutenant Wood- 
roof, of Light Company M, Twentieth United States Artillery, 
who fired seventy-eight rounds from two cannon posted about 
three hundred yards from the blockhouse. The threatening 
conditions at this point caused General Lee to hasten with the 
Ninth Virginia Cavalry galloping to its relief. This regiment 
was followed by two guns of Moorman's Battery, which, under 
direction of General Stuart, quickly engaged the Federal pieces, 
which already had begun their fire. The Confederate sharp- 
shooters soon reoccupied the blockhouse and riflepits, and Kil- 



A Great Federal Raid in 1863 and How it was Defeated 77 

Patrick's men recrossed the river. No further serious demon- 
stration was made at this ford. 

While the Ninth Regiment was supporting Mooreman's 
guns near the bridge, it became necessary to detach two squad- 
rons with orders to proceed at a gallop to Beverley's Ford, 
where the divisions of Stoneman sent to that point were threat- 
ening to cross. Here the sharpshooters of these squadrons, 
after crossing an open plain on foot, found a well sunken road 
on the river side to offer an excellent breastwork. No sooner 
were they posted behind the bank of this road than Federal 
carbineers began to try to dislodge them, firing from the trees 
and ravine on the opposite side. This fire kept up till late in 
the afternoon, with no attempt by the Federal cavalry to ride 
through the hazardous stream. 

As yet there had been no crossing by Davis's Brigade at 
Welford's Ford, above, and the fourteenth of April, which had 
been planned to be so eventful, was drawing to a close under 
thick and ominous clouds, which threatened a downpour of 
rain. 

The Federal General commanding was in profound ignor- 
ance of these facts, and felt sanguine that all had gone well 
with the expedition. Early on the fifteenth he wrote to Mr. 
Lincoln: "I am rejoiced that Stoneman had two good days 
to go up the river, and was enabled to cross it before it became 
too much swollen." The President, in the deep solicitude he 
felt for the movement, already had written to Hooker: "Would 
like to have a letter from you as soon as convenient." Again 
Hooker wrote to Lincoln: "Just heard from Stoneman. His 
artillery has been brought to a halt by the mud, one division 
only having crossed the river." No hint is given that any cause 
other than the mud had delayed his movement. On April 
15th, two days after the Rappahannock should have been cross- 
ed, the President informed General Hooker: "It is now 10:15 
P. M. An hour ago I received your letter of this morning, and 
a few moments later your dispatch of this evening. The latter 
gives me considerable uneasiness. The rain and mud were, 
of course, to be calculated upon. General Stoneman is not mov- 
ing rapidly enough to make the expedition come to anything. 
He has now been out three days, two of which were unusually 
fair weatker. * * * And yet he is not twenty-five miles 



78 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

from where he started. * * * f fear it is another failure 
already. Write me often; I am very anxious." 

The information sent to the general commanding by Stone- 
man that his artillery had been "brought to a halt by the mud," 
did not discourage that high officer as to still pushing the en- 
terprise, and he directed him on the fifteenth as follows: "If 
your artillery is your only hinderance to your advance, the 
major-general commanding directs that you order it to return, 
and to proceed to the execution of your orders without it. It 
is but reasonable to suppose that if you cannot make use of that 
arm of the service the enemy cannot." 

When this communication from Hooker was received by 
Stoneman, the conditions which confronted him were interest- 
ing and perplexing. The strong brigade commanded by Colonel 
B. F. Davis, delayed in the execution of its orders by causes 
that were never reported, had before daylight of the fifteenth 
crossed at Welford's Ford in a terrific rainstorm, dispersing 
the pickets of the Second North Carolina Cavalry on guard 
there in hot haste, and, with every man wearing an oilcloth 
cover, had marched down the river to uncover Beverley's Ford. 
In doing so, they got in between the sharpshooters on guard at 
the ford and their horses left in care of the reserve pickets on 
the hill in the rear. They captured the horses, and greatly 
threatened to do the same for the sharpshooters. Colonel Lewis, 
of the Ninth Cavalry, commanding these reserve pickets, 
opened fire on the men under the oilcloths, and gave abundant 
warning that they had crossed the river. General W. H. F. 
Lee, with the Thirteenth Virginia Cavalry and several squad- 
rons of the Ninth, hastened to oppose the adventurous regi- 
ments of Davis. 

The situation of these latter regiments was not an enviable 
one. The torrents of rain that had fallen during the night had 
swollen the river beyond its banks. Only by swimming the 
horses could it be crossed. There was no possibility of Gregg 
or Averell or Buford coming to Davis's assistance. Within an 
hour, at least, Stuart might hurl his whole available force of 
two thousand men against them, and rake the plain with Moore- 
man's guns. Nothing seemed to remain to Davis but to get 
back over the river, and this he hastened to do by a rapid march 
to Beverley's Ford and a precipitate and daring plunge by his 



A Great Federal Raid in 1863 and How it was Defeated 79 

men into the raging current. 

The two regiments of W. H. F. Lee's command, above men- 
tioned, charged the retreating column near the river, capturing 
men and horses and their equipments. How many horses or 
men were lost, having been swept down on the swollen torrent, 
we never ascertained. Under the circumstances, there was little 
prospect of General Stoneman's proceeding to the execution of 
his orders, although the commanding general advised him : 
"This army is now awaiting your movement. * * * Jn 
view of the swollen condition of the streams it is not probable, 
in the event of j^our being able to advance, that you will be 
troubled by the infantry of the enemy." 

On April i6th, Stoneman informed the commanding gen- 
eral: "No command ever had higher hopes, or was more confi- 
dent of success, though ignorant of what it was expected to per- 
form ; but the elements seem to have conspired to prevent the 
accomplishment of a brilliant cavalry operation." The great 
raid, and the paralyzing blow which it was designed to strike, 
was for the time defeated, and Lincoln's prophetic fear abund- 
antly fulfilled when he said: "I fear it is another failure 
already." 



CHAPTER XIII 

BATTLE OF BRANDY STATION 

'"p HE advent of June, 1863, found the Federal Army under 
-■■ General Joseph E. Hooker, and that of the Confederates 
under General Lee, occupying their respective camps on the 
Rappahannock, at Fredericksburg, enjoying a much needed rest 
and recuperating after the sanguinary battle of Chancellorsville, 
one month before. 

In official circles on the Northern side, much uncertainty and 
uneasiness began now to be felt because of the concentration of 
most of the Confederate cavalry under General J. E. B. Stuart 
in Culpeper County. General John Buford, of the Federal 
cavalry, communicated this information to General Pleasanton 
on June 5th, and the latter officer forwarded it to General 
Hooker, who in turn sent it to the Adjutant-General in Wash- 
ington. At three in the afternoon of the same day the gen- 
eral-in-chief (Halleck) informed General Hooker that: "Pris- 
oners and deserters brought in here state that Stuart is pre- 
paring a column of from I5,cxx) to 20,000 men, cavalry and 
artillery, for a raid." 

The uneasiness created by the apprehension of this powerful 
raid was not confined to army circles, but at Baltimore, Havre 
de Grace, York, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, and other places the 
authorities were warned to make preparations to resist Stuart's 
column. General Milroy, in a dispatch to General Schenk, 
said: "I would advise that the militia of Maryland, Pennsyl- 
vania and Ohio be called out at once, as doubtless there is a 
mighty raid on foot." 

General Hooker deemed it expedient and well to crush this 
apprehended raid in its incipiency by dealing Stuart a staggering 
blow before he had time to set his column in motion, and the 
orders for the preparation of the troops and their equipment 
were duly issued, and as a preliminary step Colonel A. N. 
Duffie, a well tried and most efficient officer, was sent with a 
strong reconnoitering force of cavalry to cross the Rappa- 
hannock near Sulphur Springs, and proceeding by way of 

80 



Battle of Brandy Station 8 1 

Jeffersonton, to ascertain the location and strength ^of Stuart's 
troops. Duffie crossed the river without serious opposition, and 
proceeded within four or five miles of the town of Culpeper. 
The reconnolssance, or Intelligence from it, was sufficiently de- 
layed to cause some anxiety on the Federal side as to the fate 
of it. However, at 3 A. M. on June 7th, Colonel Duffie In- 
formed Buford : "I am safe with my command. The recon- 
nolssance has been successful." 

The Information brought back from this expedition was 
deficient, both as to the strength and location of the Confederate 
cavalry in the vicinity of Brandy Station — matters which It was 
gravely Important that the officers commanding the Federal cav- 
alry should know. About the time that the report of Duffie's 
safe return reached the headquarters of the Federal Army, Cap- 
tain Ulric Dalghren was sent by General Hooker to General 
Alfred Pleasanton, chief of the cavalry of the Army of the 
Potomac, bearing instructions to him to proceed with over 
10,000 cavalry, infantry, and artillery, and by a rapid, con- 
certed, and vigorous movement from two directions, to attack 
whatever Confederate force might be encamped in the vicinity 
of Culpeper. Captain Dalghren was directed to accompany 
General Pleasanton until he had recrossed the river. 

For this expedition there were assigned to Pleasanton, In 
addition to the cavalry corps and horse artillery of the Army 
of the Potomac, two brigades of Infantry, under command, re- 
spectively, of Brigadier-Generals A. Ames and D. A. Russell, 
numbering 4,800 muskets, 3,000 under the former and 1,800 
under the latter. The regiments assigned to Russell were taken 
from three army corps — the First, Second, and Sixth. Six 
batteries took part in the movement. 

The orders from Hooker were deemed unsafe to be sent by 
telegraph, and so were Intrusted to the hands of the young and 
fearless Dalghren. They read in part as follows: ''From the 
most reliable information at these headquarters, it is recom- 
mended that you cross the Rappahannock at Beverly and Kelly's 
Fords, and march directly on Culpeper. For this you will 
divide your cavalry force as you think proper to carry into 
execution the object in view, which is to disperse and destroy 
the rebel force assembled In the vicinity of Culpeper, and to de- 
stroy his trains and supplies of all descriptions to the utmost of 



82 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

5^our abilitji." • 

In anticipation of these instructions and impatient of any 
delay in undertaking their accomplishment, Pleasanton had the 
same day notified the general commanding: "Let us act soon, 
and please telegraph any instructions. My people are all ready 
to pitch in." The day following, the entire force was in motion 
towards the Rappahannock. Agreeably to Hooker's instructions, 
it was divided into two bodies, one of which pursued the roads 
through Fauquier County leading to Kelly's Ford, and the 
other those leading to Beverly's Ford, six or seven miles above. 
These troops, thus divided, bivouacked on the night of the 
eighth, ready to cross the river at six o'clock the following 
morning. The body directed to cross at the upper ford was 
commanded by Brigadier-General John Buford, and consisted 
of three brigades of cavalry (thirteen regiments), a brigade of 
infantry (Ames's) of five regiments, and four batteries. This 
command having in it Pleasanton's old brigade, he accompanied 
it in person. 

The force directed to cross at the lower ford (Kelly's) was 
placed under command of Brigadier-General David McM. 
Gregg, and comprised two divisions of cavalry (twelve regi- 
ments), three regiments of infantry and two batteries of light 
artillery. 

The entire command directed by Pleasanton — thirty-three 
regiments and six batteries — represented twelve States of the 
Union: Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, Penn- 
sylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, West Virginia, Ohio, Illinois, 
Indiana, and Wisconsin, besides the District of Columbia, New 
York, and Pennsylvania furnished seven regiments each ; and 
Massachusetts and Winconsin three each. There were, besides 
of United States Regulars, four regiments and four batteries. 

These troops were in excellent condition, admirably equipped 
with arms, ammunition, and horses. Nothing that the quarter- 
master, commissary, and ordinance departments of the govern- 
ment could supply was lacking to fit them for the enterprise 
that lay before them. In most, if not all, of the regiments, the 
men were clad in new uniforms, had their faces cleanly shaven, 
and appeared as if they were in readiness for inspection, or a 
grand review, rather than the rough encounter of battle. 

Such were the conditions under which the men who followed 



Battle of Brandy Station 83 

Pleasanton, Buford, and Gregg spread their blankets on the 
night of the eighth of June, and laid down to rest, many light- 
hearted fellows who did so being all unconscious that they 
would never do the like again. 

Whilst the Federal commander was making these disposi- 
tions of his troops, and preparing for a sudden and concerted 
dash on the lines held by the Southern cavalry the following 
morning, these latter were engaged during this bright June day 
in a grand review, under the eyes of General Lee and other prom- 
inent generals of his army. A train from Culpeper and Orange 
with visitors, including many ladies, stood on the track near the 
reviewing stand, the long double lines in which Stuart mar- 
shalled his men, as he with Generals Lee, Hampton, and others 
galloped past, were truly imposing in appearance. When these 
lines were broken into platoons and marched in review, first at 
a walk, again at a trot, and then at a gallop, the scene became 
grandly inspiring. A mimic battle, in which Hampton led a 
regiment in a charge on a battery, closed the splendid pageantry 
of the day. These men retired at night, hungry and weary 
and needing rest after the excitement and vigorous exercise 
through which they had passed. 

They comprised five brigades commanded by Brigadier- Gen- 
erals Fitz Lee, Wade Hampton, W\ H. F. Lee, J. E. Jones and 
R. H. Robertson, the latter having but two regiments. The 
entire force numbered 8,500 men. They were from Maryland, 
Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, and in 
one battery were men from New Orleans. Besides this battery 
there were four others. 

These brigades bivouacked in the vicinity of the three fords of 
the Rappahannock, nearest to Brandy Station, with the artillery 
under Major R. F. Beckham, on the road leading to Beverley's, 
and near St. James Church. Near the artillery were the regi- 
ments of Jones's brigade, one of which, the Sixth Virginia, 
furnished the squadron under Captain Bruce Gibson, which 
was placed on picket duty at the above ford Captain William 
White, from one of Robertson's North Carolina regiments, was 
on guard with a squadron at Kelly's Ford. 

So well had the movements of the Federals been covered, and 
so silently had they approached the vicinity of the river that 
no knowledge of their advance had reached General Stuart. 



84 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

Both he and his command slept duriflg the night of the eighth 
all unconscious of the rude awakening in store for them next 
morning. 

According to the preconcerted plan the men with Buford and 
those with Gregg were put in motion without bugle note, or 
other noise to give the alarm, at four o'clock in the morning, 
and proceeded to the two fords which it was proposed they 
would cross simultaneously. A mistake as to the right road by 
one of Gregg's brigades — that under Duffie — delaj^ed his column 
so that it was not at the ford as early as was contemplated. 
Nothing, however, retarded Buford's march, and in the twi- 
light of the early morning, two squadrons of the Sixth New 
York Cavalry, with which rode the daring young Dalghren and 
George A. Custer sent in advance moved quietly down the 
hill to the river and dashed across. They received the fire of 
the Confederate pickets, and rapidly followed them, as they 
retreated, arousing Captain Gibson and his men on the hill. 
The men of the Sixth New York were closely followed by the 
Eighth New York and Eighth Illinois Regiments, and Captain 
Gibson, despite a bold attempt to retard them, found it necessary 
to fall back in haste. While doing so, there was a busy stir 
among the other squadrons of the Sixth Virginia Regiment, and 
mounting in hot haste, Colonel C. E. Flournoy with these 
squadrons hastened to Gibson's support, and with such of his 
men as were at hand, met the advancing Federals within three 
hundred yards of his camp. With this encounter was now 
fairly begun the heaviest and most hotly contested cavalry bat- 
tle ever fought on the American soil. 

The dash of Flournoy 's squadron down the road on which 
the New York and Illinois regiments were boldly advancing, 
was quickly followed by those of the Seventh Virginia, under 
Colonel Thomas Marshall, which regiments, advancing on the 
left of the Sixth, pushed forward until checked by a body of 
sharpshooters deployed in the woods. 

The prompt and spirited action of the men under Flournoy 
and Marshall had an important bearing on the fortunes of the 
day in giving time to the artillerists under Major Beckham to 
extricate their guns, endangered by the rapid advance of the 
Federals; and also in the killing of Lieutenant R. O. Allen, of 
Company D, Sixth Virginia Cavalry; of Colonel B. F. Davis, 



Battle of Brandy Station 85 

who was leading the foremost brigade in the advance from the 
river. One of Captain Hart's guns, planted in, the road and 
opening fire on the Federal columns, materially aided in hold- 
ing them in check. At six A. M., Pleasanton wired Hooker: 
"Enemy has opened with artillery. Colonel Davis is badly 
wounded." 

The two regiments which had opened the engagement — the 
Eighth New York and Eighth Illinois — were speedily joined 
by a battalion of the Third Indiana, a squadron of the Third 
West Virginia, the Ninth New York, and the Seventeenth 
Pennsylvania. Detachments of Ames's infantry regiments were 
deployed on either side of the wooded road. These troops were 
closely supported by four regiments of United States regulars. 
The Sixth Pennsylvania Cavalry, under Lieutenant-Colonel 
Smith was advanced, to the front, and through an open field 
made a dash of conspicuous gallantry on Beckham's well served 
guns, and through an interval between Jones's and Hampton's 
lines, swept beyond these guns. The Confederates closing in 
from each side quickly dispersed them. 

Beckham's pieces began now to shell the woods furiously in 
the direction of the I^ederal line, and the Eleventh Virginia 
under Lomax, the Twelfth under Harman and White's Bat- 
talion, all under the eye of Stuart, were successively hurled 
against it. Meanwhile, the ground occupied by the Federals 
was extended towards their left, both the infantry and the 
regulars being hurried into position, and the carbineers and in- 
fantrymen, taking advantage of the cover afforded by the woods, 
pressed forward against these regiments with vigor. They were 
met by successive charges on the part of the mounted men of 
Jones's brigade, and by several squadrons dismounted as sharp- 
shooters as well. 

While the conflict was raging along the Beverly Road, Gen- 
eral Wade Hampton had taken position with three of his regi- 
ments (First North Carolina, Cobb and Jeff Davis legions), 
and having dismounted a body of sharpshooters, pushed them 
forward on the right of the above road, and engaged the in- 
fantry in his front. The Jeff Davis legion followed quickly 
in support of the line of sharpshooters, checking the Federal 
line which had begun to force them back. The timely arrival 
of Colonel Black, with the First South Carolina Cavalry, made 



86 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee^s Army 

this effort the more effective in checking this line. 

This activity on the part of Hampton's regiments in resisting 
the Federal advance on the right of Jones's line of fire was not 
greater than General W. H. F. Lee now found necessary in 
order to resist the vigorous advance on the left, where dis- 
mounted cavalry and infantry pressed forward through the con- 
cealing and protecting timber. Detachments of the several regi- 
ments of Lee's brigade — Ninth, Tenth, Thirteenth Virginia 
Cavalry and Second North Carolina — were dismounted and 
hastened forward to oppose Buford's infantry and dismounted 
horsemen on a line reaching toward the river and forming a 
right angle with Jones's line, and became engaged at short 
range. The resistance to the Federal advance thus offered by 
Lee's men on foot, ably led by Colonel John R. Chambliss, Jr., 
was well supported by a section of Breathed's battery which sent 
its missiles into the woods, and with deadly effect also on the 
Federal horses in the field below. The position of W. H. F. 
Lee's brigade threatened the flank and rear of Buford's line, 
which that general began now to reinforce with the Eighth 
Illinois Cavalry and detachments of Ames's infantry. 

The determined and effective resistance which had been met 
by Buford's entire line, with Lee confronting him on the right 
of his position, and especially by Jones in the centre, with 
Hampton on the left, caused a lull in the storm of battle, and 
Pleasanton having wired to Hooker, the latter at twelve noon 
reported to Halleck: "Brigadier-General Pleasanton reports 
that after a severe encounter with the rebel cavalry over Bev- 
erly Ford, he has not been able to make head against it. He 
reports that his movement was anticipated." The experience 
of his troops in this encounter he also expressed to Hooker as 
"a perfect hornet's nest." 

Developments during this lull in the battle seemed to protend 
a fierce and sanguinary struggle for the elevated ground held 
by W. H. F. Lee's regiments. Colonel Lomax, with the Elev- 
enth Virginia Regiment, had been sent by General Stuart to 
strengthen this line, and Colonel T. T. Munford with two 
regiments of Fitz Lee's brigade, had been ordered to move in 
closer from the opposite side. Opposed to these regiments, and 
for the most part concealed by woods, were assembled the 
Eighth Illinois, Sixth Pennsylvania, First, Second, Fifth, and 



Battle of Brandy Station 87 

Sixth United States Cavalry, with whom also operated the 
Second and Third Wisconsin Infantry. 

An attack by these troops, and a general advance of Bu- 
ford's entire line only awaited the knowledge on Pleasanton's 
part that the long-delayed brigades of General Gregg were com- 
ing to his support. This intelligence reached him about noon, 
and he promptly wired Hooker: "General Gregg has joined me, 
and I will now attack the enemy vigorously with my whole 
force." 



CHAPTER XIV 

THE BATTLE OF BRANDY STATION Continued 

WHILST Pieasanton with Buford, on the hills above Bev- 
erly's Ford, were baffled and held in check by Stuart's 
three brigades, during the morning hours of June 9th, it is prop- 
er to note how the co-operating force under Gregg had been en- 
gaged. A passage at Kelly's Ford had been readily effected at 
six A. M., and this was duly reported to Stuart through Briga- 
dier-General Robertson. 

Colonel A. N. Duffie led the advance of Gregg's troops, with 
the First Rhode Island Cavalry, Sixth Ohio and First Massa- 
chusetts. A section of Pennington's battery followed these regi- 
ments, supported by the Third Pennsylvania Cavalry. Duffie's 
orders were to move on Stevensburg, whilst Gregg, with the 
larger part of his command, proposed turning to the right at a 
point called Madden's and taking the road leading to Brandy 
Station, where he expected to form a junction with Pieasanton. 

Brigadier-General Russell, with his infantry brigade, after 
leaving five hundred men to protect the road behind these com- 
mands, was directed to move towards Brandy Station on a road 
nearer the river than the one by which Gregg marched. 

The progress of the three columns into which Gregg's force 
w^as now divided, though duly communicated to Stuart, appears 
not to have affected him with serious apprehensions. It is mani- 
fest that he counted, however vainly, on General Robertson's 
command to retard the movement on the station. Nevertheless 
whilst with Lee, Hampton, and Jones, he was defending his 
position against Buford and Ames in front. Gregg's columns 
were seriously threatening it from the rear, and Duffie's advance 
towards Stevensburg was scarcely less endangering his line of 
communication with Culpeper. 

The advance of the Federal troops from Kelly's Ford led 
General Stuart to detach the First South Carolina Regiment, 
under Colonel Black, from the line facing Buford, and to send 
it forward on the road leading to the above ford. General 
Robertson, with his two regiments, was also sent in this direc- 
tion. Colonel Butler, with the Second South Carolina Cavalry, 

88 



Battle of Brandy Station {Continued) 89 

was held in reserve at Brandy Station, but the advance on 
Stevensburg by Duffie led to an order directing him to hasten 
to assist in checking it. Colonel W. C. Wickham with the 
Fourth Virginia Cavalry was sent in support of Butler. 

A prudent precaution was taken to have the division wagons 
loaded and moved out on the road to Culpeper. 

In advance of Duffie's column, Major Stanhope, of the Sixth 
Ohio Cavalry, proceeded with little interruption to Stevensburg, 
where he was almost immediately attacked by Lieutenant-Col- 
onel Frank Hampton, of the Second South Carolina Regiment, 
with a small detachment. The Ohio squadron fell back until 
they joined the main body of Duffie's men, being pursued also 
by Major T. J. Lipscomb, of Hampton's Regiment, who had 
endeavored to cut them off. Butler's sharpshooters, in order to 
confront those of Duffie, were deployed on either side of the 
road, and became rapidly pressed and forced to fall back through 
the woods into the open fields. A simultaneous charge was now 
made by the First Rhode Island, on the right, the First Massa- 
chusetts on the left, and a part of the Sixth Ohio in the road. 
Lieutenant-Colonel Hampton, with his small detachment of 
South Carolinians, now boldly charged down the road in the 
face of the Ohioans exposed to a fire in front and on either side. 

He was mortally wounded in the charge, and his men broken 
into disorder by the heavy force confronting them, retreated 
precipitately. Whilst Butler was thus endeavoring to check 
the advance of Duffie's heavy regiments, Colonel Wickham 
reached the scene with the Fourth Virginia, the line of his 
march being along a narrow by-road through a dense copse of 
pine. His column had been halted and one squadron sent to 
strengthen Butler's skirmish line, when the South Carolianians 
in their retreat dashed down on his mounted men and threw 
them into immediate disorder. The regiment was cut in twain 
by the onset of the Federal squadrons; the situation was un- 
favorable to forming the broken ranks ; the pine woods obscured 
from many of the men the numbers attacking them, and the 
men from Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Ohio dashed for- 
ward with boldness. The result was that Wickham's men, 
excepting the squadron which had been sent already to the left, 
were stampeded, one part in the direction of Stevensburg and 
the other towards Carrico Mill. The road being now cleared, 



90 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

the troops under Duffie resumed the march to Stevensburg. 

The men of the Second North 'Carolina and Fourth Vir- 
ginia were quickly rallied, and directed by Colonel Butler, were 
interposed between Stevensburg and Brandy Station, being 
forced at times to yield ground to the pressure of the six regi- 
ments opposing them, and the guns of Pennington and Clarke, 
which subjected them to a continuous shelling. 

Among the casualties inflicted by Pennington's guns were 
those made by the first shot, which taking effect on Captain 
W. D. Farley and Colonel M. C. Butler, who had met in the 
road, caused the latter the loss of a leg and the former his life. 
The brave Farley dying on the field exhibited a calmness and 
heroism in keeping with his noble coolness and courage in battle. 

With his two regiments now reduced by the loss of sixty- 
two men, opposing Duffie's six, nothing more could be done by 
Colonel Wickham, who had succeeded in command after But- 
ler's wounding than to watch the Federal movements, and 
strike as occasion might offer. Duffie was preparing for a 
charge with the First Massachusetts Regiment on Wickham's 
line, when a courier from Gregg summoned him to hasten with 
his commands to his support. The direct and short route to 
reach Gregg lay along the road held by Wickham. Duffie chose 
the long and circuitous road over which he had marched in the 
morning by Madden's. With J. Irwin Gregg's brigade in the 
rear with two guns to cover his retreat, he slowly retraced his 
steps toward Brandy Station, with Wickham following closely 
and retarding his movement, and then probably affecting in 
an important measure the final issue of the day. 

During Duffie's advance on Stevensburg and skirmishes in 
that vicinity, General Gregg having turned to the right at 
Madden's, was directing his column to Brandy Station. Wynd- 
ham's brigade was in advance, and Captain P. Yorke Jones, of 
the First New Jersey Regiment, led the advance guard so swiftly 
and cleverly that the approach of these troops was not dis- 
covered, or at least reported, by any Confederate vidette. Gen- 
eral Robertson, commanding south of the railroad towards Kel- 
ly's Ford, had not seen fit to guard this road, and a guard 
ordered by General Stuart to be placed at the station, from 
some unexplained cause never got there. Half a mile or so 
beyond the station on a gradually ascending eminence was Fleet- 



Battle of Brandy Station {Continued) 91 

wood, General Stuart's headquarters. Here Major H. B. Mc- 
Clellan, his assistant adjutant-general had been left on the 
lookout, and two pieces of Chew's Battery with scant supply 
of ammunition defended the hill. Lieutenant J. W. Carter 
commanded these most opportunely placed guns. 

With Pleasanton and Buford assailing from the north, and 
the key of Stuart's position attacked by Gregg, Wyndham, and 
Kilpatrick from the south, it was as if the formidable jaw of 
a huge vice were rapidly closing to crush the already hard fought 
Confederate line. 

Numerous groves bordering the road over which Gregg's 
troops moved concealed his approach until the leading regiment 
of Wyndham 's brigade emerged into the open country around 
Brandy Station. When this regiment appeared to the small 
group of Confederates on the hill. Carter's guns opened fire at 
once on them, and on the Federal side two pieces of the Sixth 
New York Battery were placed in position under Lieutenant 
M. P. Clarke and returned Carter's fire. The resounding 
echoes of these guns gave Stuart and his troops opposing Bu- 
ford abundant warning that the enemy had gained their rear. 

The presence of Confederate guns on the heights appears to 
have led Gregg and Wyndham to conclude that the position 
was more formidable than was true. At any rate, there was 
some hesitation on their part, or delay in arranging for a charge. 
The moments thus gained were of incalculable value to Stuart. 
They enabled him to detach the Twelfth Virginia Regiment, 
under Colonel A. W. Harman, from the line confronting Bu- 
ford, and to send them at a gallop to the new point of danger, 
and to hasten Colonel White with the Thirty-fifth Battalion 
to his support. These two commands, undaunted by the des- 
perate encounters of the morning, moved under spur to gain 
the Fleetwood hill. 

As they galloped towards this crest from one side. Major C. 
H. Russell, on the other, led a squadron of the First Maryland 
Cavalry into Brandy Station, whilst the remainder of the regi- 
ments under Lieutenant-Colonel Deems, the First New Jersey 
under Major Janeway, and the First Pennsylvania, under Col- 
onel C. P. Haylor, charged up the hill on each side of the 
Fleetwood house in magnificent order. Lieutenant Carter hav- 
ing exhausted his ammunition, was forced to retire with his guns 



92 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

as these regiments with their fluttering guidons dashed up on 
either side of the house that croWns the hill. No sooner had 
the Federals gained the hill-top than they were in clash with 
Harman's regiment, which, however, was strung out in col- 
umns of fours and unable to cope with the solid mass which they 
encountered. They were thrown rapidly into confusion and re- 
coiling before the heavy odds which they had encountered greatly 
disarranged a squadron of White's battalion which they met rid- 
ing gallantly to their support. Despite this mishap, White and 
Harman renewed the contest for possession of the hill and only 
retired when in danger of being surrounded. With their squad- 
rons partly mixed, they fell back to reform, Harman on one side 
of the hill and White on the other. They were quickly ready to 
renew the charge, which Harman led on the Eastern side, from 
which he was forced to retreat, being himself wounded. White, 
sweeping around the western side of the hill, charged these guns 
of the sixth New York Battery under Lieutenant Clarke, which 
were now in position at the foot of the hill. His command was 
soon surrounded and had to cut their way out in a desperate 
hand-to-hand encounter. 

In this exciting contest. Colonel Joseph W. Martin, of the 
Sixth New York Battery, had been pushed forward with two 
guns to take position near Lieutenant Clarke in co-operation 
with the regiments of Wyndham on the left ; and Lieutenant J. 
Wade Wilson, with the two remaining guns of the same battery, 
had been advanced to a commanding position on the right in con- 
junction with the brigade of Kilpatrick. At this juncture, Kil- 
patrick's regiments: First Maine, under Colonel Doughty; Sec- 
ond New York (Lieutenant-Colonel Davies) ; Tenth, New 
York (Lieutenant-Colonel Irvine) ; and Orton's company, of 
District of Columbia Cavalry, were passing forward in splendid 
style en echelon in reinforcement of Wyndham's brigade, and to 
maintain the mastery of the hill. The First New Jersey Cavalry 
had pressed beyond the front of the. principal conflict, and were 
in possession of the heights in the vicinity of the Barbour house, 
some distance west of the Fleetwood hill, and their advanced po- 
sition served as a signal of cheer to the five regiments hastening 
to their support. 

Meanwhile, on the Confederate side, the broken ranks of the 
Twelfth Virginia and White's Battalion were again reforming 



Battle of Brandy Station {Continued) 93 

to renew the strife, Colonel Flournoy, with four squadrons of 
the Sixth Virginia, under Hampton's orders, was leaving the line 
confronting Buford, and by direction of Stuart, bearing to the 
left, so as to strike a body of Federals beyond the railroad ; Colo- 
nel Lomax, with the Eleventh Virginia Regiment, was advanc- 
ing on the farther side of the Fleetwood hill, on the right 
towards the Barbour house ; Colonel Young, leading Cobb's Le- 
gion, having also withdrawn from in front of Buford, was 
dashing in column of squadrons towards the Fleetwood hill ; Col- 
onel Black, at the head of the First South Carolina Cavalry, was 
closely following Young; Hart's Battery was rushing under 
spur along side of Cobb's Legion, and sections of McGregor's 
and Chew's batteries also hastened into positions on the hotly 
disputed crest. 

Scarcely had these guns been unlimbered, before the New Jer- 
sey regiments in their advanced position found themselves pressed 
by Jones's regiments and their way of retreat down the hill 
blocked by the sudden dash of the men under Young and Black. 
They consequently rode tumultuously down the narrow ridge, 
taking the Confederate guns in the flank, pressing between cais- 
sons and pieces, and causing a general melee, in which sabres, 
pistols, gun-rammers, sponge-stafis and whatever else could be 
seized, served as weapons. Unsupported as they were, the can- 
noneers in this encounter defended themselves and their guns 
with singular coolness, bravery and skill and Federal troopers 
unhorsed, killed, wounded, and captured gave proof of their in- 
dividual prowess. 

The pressure of Jones's regiments on the one side, and of 
Young's and Black's on the other, caused the two Federal bri- 
gades to yield their hard-won ground, and they retreated beyond 
the railroad, where a new danger awaited them. General Hamp- 
ton with his two remaining regiments, the First North Carolina 
(Colonel Baker) and Jeff Davis Legion (Lieutenant-Colonel 
Waring), having abandoned his line on Buford's extreme left, 
hastened to add a blow to those already being dealt to Gregg's 
troops. He accordingly swept around to the left of the Fleet- 
wood hill, and passing over the railroad, hurled these regiments 
in magnificent fashion against the right of the Federal line, cre- 
ating no small confusion and making important captures. Per- 
haps no more spirited or brilliant charge than this was made dur- 



94 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

ing all this battle. • 

During these determined charges, the earth shook with the 
tramp of dashing regiments ; from a single point of view nearly 
7,000 horsemen contended in battle, forty or more battle flags 
and guidons fluttered in the air, thousands of flashing sabres 
gleamed in the sunlight; the rattle of carbines and pistols min- 
gled with the roar of cannon ; riderless horses dashed wildly this 
way and that; armed men wearing the blue and the gray be- 
came mixed in promiscuous confusion ; the surging ranks swayed 
up and down the sides of Fleetwood hill, and dense clouds of 
smoke and dust rose as a curtain to cover the tumultuous and 
bloody scene. 

A critical moment in the contest for the heights was reached 
when Cobb's Legion, under Young, and the Eleventh Virginia 
under Lomax, one on the one side and the other on the other, 
dashed upon the three pieces of the Sixth New York Battery, 
under Martin and Clark, and compelled their surrender, not, 
however, until only six of the thirty-six brave cannoneers re- 
mained to defend them. Lomax's charge bore his flag beyond 
the captured guns into and beyond Brandy Station, from which 
Wyndham's men were retreating. There was no rallying of the 
Federals to drive back the men in this charge or to recapture the 
lost guns. 

Colonel Flournoy, with four squadrons of his regiment, hav- 
ing ridden over the guns under Lieutenant J. Wade Wilson, 
supporting Kilpatrick on the left, had been forced by overwhelm- 
ing numbers to relinquish these pieces ; but General Hampton in 
that quarter of the field with the First North Carolina Regiment 
and the Jeff Davis Legion, had thrown Kilpatrick's column into 
confusion, captured numerous prisoners, a stand of colors and 
Lieut.-Col. Irvine, of the Tenth New York Cavalry. Hamp- 
ton's further vigorous movement was checked by the fire of 
Beckham's guns on the hill, where the dense clouds of dust pre- 
vented the gunners from distinguishing friends from foes. 

In the language of Stuart: "The contest for the hill was long 
and spirited." Major H. B. McClellan, Stuart's assistant ad- 
jutant-general, declared : "Modern warfare cannot furnish an 
instance of a field more closely, more valiantly contested." 

General Gregg said : "Assailed on all sides, the men stood to 
their guns nobly. Thus, for an hour and a half was the contest 



Battle of Brandy Station {Continued) 95 

continued * * * fn determined charges." 

Major Beaumont, of the First New Jersey Cavalry declared 
the engagement "to be the hardest fought cavalry battle ever 
fought in this country." 

Whilst the brave men under Gregg and Wj^ndham were con- 
tending, as has been shown, on the summit and slopes of Fleet- 
wood hill, and Duffie was moving to their support, it had not 
been quiet on the side next to Beverly's Ford, where since early 
dawn Generals Jones and W. H. F. Lee had confronted the cav- 
alry, infantry, and four batteries under Buford. On this line 
General Pleasanton had not been unmindful of his message to 
Hooker, wired at 12.30 P. M. that he would "attack vigorously" 
with his "whole force." 

The massing of troops in front of W. H. F. Lee's position 
preliminary to this vigorous attack by Pleasanton's whole force, 
and the withdrawal of Lomax's regiment from Lee's line, leav- 
ing a road unguarded on his right, compelled the latter general 
to shorten his line by falling back to higher ground nearer to the 
Fleetwood hill. This movement was effected with little or no 
interference on the part of the Federals, and the new line formed 
occupied a strong position ; admirable for the concealment of the 
miounted men and with a commanding eminence of Breathed's 
guns, and a strong stone fence for the line of dismounted sharp- 
shooters. On the Federal side, the Second and Third Massa- 
chusetts and Second Wisconsin Infantry, supported by the other 
regiments of Ames's brigade, were pushed forwarded and hotly 
engaged Lee's sharpshooters under Colonel John R. Chambliss. 
Chambliss's line was broken and a part of his force captured. 

The Sixth Pennsylvania Cavalry, under Colonel Taylor, 
which had in the morning so distinguished itself by a brilliant 
charge on the Confederate guns near St. James Church, were 
quick to take advantage of the opening which the infantry had 
effected, and pushed forward in fine order, bearing down upon 
the line of sharpshooters behind the stone fence, putting them to 
flight and making some captures. No sooner had this regiment 
reached the top of the hill behind which Lee's mounted regi- 
ments were in line than the Ninth Virginia, led by Colonel 
Beale, assailed them with the sabre, breaking them into confu- 
sion and forcing them back, not along the line of their retreat, 
but directly on the stone fence through which there was but a 



96 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

narrow opening, and dealing them some heavy blows during the 
necessary delay in forcing their way through it. They were fol- 
lowed by men of the Ninth at a gallop through the field beyond 
the fence to the edge of the woods, where a Federal battery was 
in position. A good many of the prisoners which the Federals 
had taken were released by this charge. 

The Pennsylvanians scarcely had been driven from the hill 
before the Second United States regulars dashed up on it along 
the line of the previous charge, attacking the Ninth Virginia on 
the flank, and forcing them back in a severe hand-to-hand en- 
counter. At this juncture, the Second North Carolina Regi- 
ment, dashingly led by its young Colonel, Sol. Williams, reached 
the hill, and swept the regulars back, pursuing them almost to 
the mouth of the cannon. A charge by the Tenth Virginia Cav- 
alry in co-operation with that of the Second North Carolina 
ended the combat in the saddle in this quarter of the field. The 
gallant Colonel of the latter regiment, Sol. Williams, had fallen, 
pierced in the brain with a pistol ball; General Lee had been 
wounded in the leg, and Captain Charles Caulfield, of the Sec- 
ond Regulars, lay dead on the field. 

Colonel T. T. Munford, commanding three regiments of Fitz 
Lee's brigade, long delayed in coming by reason of some uncer- 
tainty in his orders, had reached the left of Lee's line and gave 
important support during these stirring engagements. His 
sharpshooters under Captains James Breckenridge and G. D. 
White, had been pushed forward engaging Buford's skirmishers 
and the supporting infantry. 

It soon became evident that Buford had commenced to re- 
treat towards Beverly's Ford. Three of Breathed's pieces were 
advanced, and actively served on the Federal column. Colonel 
John R. Chambliss, now commanding Lee's brigade, and Colo- 
nel Munford with his three regiments (First, Second, and 
Third) followed the retreating foe without making any further 
attack. They moved overground on which at intervals lay 
Federal dead and across a field strewn with fallen horses. 

General Buford, well protected by Ames's infantry and sev- 
eral batteries, efifected a crossing at the ford over which he had 
advanced at early dawn, and with his escape, silence settled down 
upon the field of the conflict. 

Of the fighting under Lee, General Stuart had this to say: 



Battle of Brandy Statioti {Continued) 97 

"His command was handled in a handsome and highly satisfac- 
tory manner and engaged the enemy in a series of brilliant 
charges." Of these various encounters on the right of Pleasan- 
ton's line, he reported: "Buford's cavalry had a long and desper- 
ate encounter, hand-to-hand, with the enemy." With respect to 
his final assault on Lee and Jones, he said: "A grand attack was 
made by our right, and the finest fighting of the war took place." 

The part played by Lee's brigade, with which co-operated the 
Seventh Virginia Cavalry, under Colonel Thomas Marshall, 
was most important in its relations to movements on other parts 
of Pleasanton's line. The threatening attitude of this brigade, 
menacing the flank and rear of Buford's men, compelled the 
withdrawal of the Eighth Illinois, Sixth Pennsylvania, and the 
reserve brigade, as also most of the infantry from the left of 
Pleasanton's line to the right in front of Lee. This movement 
was in progress at the critical moment when it became necessary 
for Stuart to withdraw Jones's and Hampton's regiments for the 
defense of Fleetwood hill, and it greatly facilitated and assured 
that delicate and hazardous procedure. 

An examination of the lists of casualties on both sides shows 
that on no part of the field w^as the contest more bloody than 
where W. H. F. Lee and Jones repelled the last assaults of Bu- 
ford's line. The men killed and wounded under Wyndham and 
Kilpatrick during the successive charges of their regiments on 
Fleetwood hill were considerably less than those sustained by 
the reserve brigade and Eighth Illinois. 

The effect of the charges made by Colonel Flournoy and 
General Hampton beyond the railroad appear in the reports of 
Colonel Jacob B. Switzer, of the Sixty-second Pennsylvania In- 
fantry, who states: "Clouds of dust were seen approaching from 
the same direction; then down the road at full speed came the 
usual crowd of mounted countrabands, camp-followers and 
stragglers, ea omne genus, * * * shouting, 'We are all cut 
to pieces; the rebels are coming,'" etc. These charges against 
the right of Gregg's line probably led to the disorderly retreat 
on another road, reported by Colonel A. N. Duffie: "On ap- 
proaching the road leading from the StevensburgRoad to Brandy 
Station," said he, "I found one squadron of the Tenth New 
York Cavalry moved up with pack mules, fleeing in the greatest 
disorder. ^ *■ "^ Upon inquiring the cause, I was informed 



gS A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee^s Army 

that the flank had been charged by a party of the enemy and 
been thrown into the greatest confu'sion. This detained me for 
half an hour." 

DufEe's arrival in the vicinity of Brandy Station, while too 
late to assist Gregg in maintaining his position on the hill, hap- 
pened most opportunely to cover his withdrawal to Rappahan- 
nock Ford, towards which his regiments now began an orderly 
and undisturbed retreat. The battle on this part of the field was 
now ended. 

On the Confederate side, the encounters of the day fell most 
heavily on Ashby's old brigade, the Sixth, Seventh, Eleventh and 
Twelfth Virginia, and White's battalion. They bore the very 
brunt of the battle, and for hours, upon foemen in front and 
rear, made charge after charge with dauntless courage and un- 
yielding obstinacy. Their brave leader (Jones) said of them: 
"Throughout, the officers and men sustained their well-earned 
reputation for gallantry." 

Reviewing the part performed by the men under Hampton, 
that chivalrous soldier said: "During the entire fight of twelve 
hours, I did not see, nor do I think there was one single strag- 
gler from the ranks." 

The testimonials of the Federal officers — general and regi- 
mental — are no less unanimous and enthusiastic as to the cool- 
ness, courage and intrepid dash of the men who followed them 
in this battle. If the deeds of personal prowess and individual dar- 
ing which were witnessed during the day on both sides could be 
accurately described, it would be a thrilling recital of manly 
heroism on the part of men of the South as well as of the North. 

When it is remembered how many of Stuart's regiments dur- 
ing nearly the whole of the day were under the fire of Ames's 
infantry, it seems a splendid tribute to the Southern cavalry that 
their commander in his congratulatory order should have said 
that "the losses inflicted by them were at least double their 
own." The disparity in the casualties was not so great as Stuart 
estimated, but it is nevertheless remarkable in a battle in which 
the Federal commander of five infantry regiments says: "The 
entire infantry was engaged more or less the entire day and al- 
ways with success," whilst not a musket was fired on the South- 
ern side, nor piece of artillery other than Stuart's. 

The losses under Stuart in this battle in killed, wounded, and 



Battle of Brandy Station {Continued) 99 

missing were 575 ; under Pleasanton, 866; Stuart had seven offi- 
cers killed; Pleasanton, ten. The number of Stuart's officers 
wounded was twenty-three ; that of Pleasanton, thirty-five. The 
number of men killed and wounded on the Confederate side was 
321 ; on the Federal side, 485. 

After getting his command across the Rappahannock, General 
Pleasanton reported to the general commanding: "Having crip- 
pled the enemy by desperate fighting so that he could not follow 
me, returned with my command to the north side of the Rappa- 
hannock." Again he wired : "We had splendid fighting yester- 
day, and I think it will prevent Stuart from making his raid." 
These messages were not quite assuring to General Hooker, and 
he reported to President Lincoln: "I am not certain that the 
raid will be abandoned from this cause." Again, he wired: 
"General Pleasanton without additional cavalry, I fear, will not 
be able to prevent the rebel cavalry from turning his right." 

Pleasanton himself did not seem quite confident of his ability 
to check an advance by Stuart, and asked that a corps of infantry 
be sent to Bealeton, near the Rappahannock, and the Third 
Corps was accordingly sent. When, a few days later, Stuart 
crossed the river, he found Pleasanton's corps escorted and pow- 
erfully assisted by three strong infantry brigades. 

As respects the attamment of his object "to disperse the rebel 
force at Culpeper," and "to destroy his trains and supplies of all 
descriptions," it must be conceded that Pleasanton's enterprise 
on June 9, 1863, was a marked failure, however well planned 
and bravely fought. 

H the expressed design of this movement by General Pleasan- 
ton was defeated by Stuart and his officers and men, the effects 
of the battle tended much to inspire confidence and courage in 
the Federal cavalry. The failure of a dispatch sent by Stuart 
to Col. Munford, commanding Fitz Lee's brigade, much im- 
paired the full and effective co-operation of that brigade in this 
greatest cavalry battle fought on the American continent. 



CHAPTER XV 

CAVALRY ENGAGEMENTS AT MIDDLEBURG AND UPPERVILLE, 
JUNE 17 TO 21, 1863 

A FTER the battle at Brandy Station in 1863 our brigade, 
^^ commanded by Colonel John R. Chambliss, crossed the 
Rappahannock on June 15th, and proceeded towards Thorough- 
fare Gap. On the 17th as our regiment approached this Gap, 
Colonel A. N. Duffie, with the First Rhode Island Regiment, 
numbering two hundred and seventy-five men, was marching 
from Manassas Junction to Middleburg along a route which 
led through this same mountain pass. We had reached a point 
in the vicinity of the Gap, and were marching in quiet com- 
posure, in consequence of reports brought by our scouts that no 
enemy was near, when suddenly a line of skirmishers in blue 
appeared on a hill to our right. Instantly, Major Tom Waller 
led a squadron into the field to make a charge, when the blue 
line disappeared beyond the hill, and we saw no more of them. 

As this Rhode Island regiment moved on towards Middle- 
burg, we followed them, quite ignorant of their numbers, and 
how soon they might turn to attack us. We were ordered to 
be in readiness to fight at any moment. Very soon the twilight 
dusk settled over us, and then came darkness. An order passed 
down the line giving us a watchword and reply for distinguish- 
ing friend from foe in a night battle. With sabres drawn and 
in silence, we marched by fours in a darkness that hid us from 
our comrades at our side, and halted about nine or ten o'clock, 
and went into camp on the edge of a large field, where we ate 
our supper, fed our horses, and lay down for sleep. 

Meanwhile, Colonel Duffie pursued his way to Middleburg, 
and strongly posted his men to resist any attack our troops might 
be preparing to make. A part of Robinson's Brigade, ap- 
proaching the town from a different direction from us, after a 
bloody encounter, drove Duffie's men out, and they, after re- 
tiring in the quiet and darkness of the night, sought the same 
field in which our bivouac was made, and, like us, lay down to 
sleep. The proximity of the gray and the blue to each other 

100 



Cavalry Engagements at Middleburg and V pperville lOl 

did not, in their unconsciousness of this nearness, disturb the 
slumber of either party. 

In the gray mist of the early dawn, a detail of men were 
sent by us to a barn located in the field of our bivouac. As they 
approached it, the Federals were discovered and their presence 
reported. There followed among us bridling and saddling in 
hot haste. Captain Tom Haynes's squadron (G and H) was 
the first in readiness to mount, and he took the lead, the re- 
mainder of the regiment moving after him at a gallop. The 
Rhode Island men began a rapid attempt to escape as soon as 
they perceived the situation they were in, taking in their flight 
a road leading towards the Bull Run mountain. Captain 
Haynes was too close on them to admit of their rallying and 
giving battle. Twice, or oftener, they attempted to turn and 
face him, and at each point several of their dead marked the 
points where such attempts were made. The pursuit was con- 
tined till the mountain crest was reached. Colonel Duflie, in 
reporting the affair on the following day from Centreville, to 
which he had continued his fiight, said: "I returned here ex- 
hausted at I 130 o'clock to-day, with the gallant debris of my 
much-loved regiment — four officers and twenty-seven men. 
* * * The following is our lost in killed, wounded and 
missing; twenty officers and 248 enlisted men." Many of the 
missing here reported, 160 at least, it fell to my lot to assist in 
paroling, and I had occasion in the performance of this duty 
to observe the fine demeanor of a body of brave men in the hour 
of deep mortification and calamity. 

After returning from the above-mentioned chase and parol- 
ing the prisoners, we marched to Middleburg, where, on the 
porch of a store at a street corner, we saw laid side by side 
the dead bodies of five or six of our men who had been killed 
the previous evening in the charge by Robertson against Duffie's 
regiment. We continued our march for about a mile beyond 
the town where we halted and spent the night. The day fol- 
lowing, we remained in this vicinity, engaged in skirmishing, 
and on the lookout for the enemy's advance; but no serious at- 
tack was made on our line, which extended to the right and left 
of the turnpike leading to Upperville. We went to sleep that 
night confidently anticipating that the attack which we had 
taken position to meet would be pushed on the morrow. 



I02 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

We were summoned to mount very early next morning, and 
were soon greeted by the rapid firmg of our dismounted men 
on the ridge above <us — a firing which seemed to indicate that 
our whole line was attacked by the enemy on foot. Our regi- 
ment was formed in line somewhat under the hill, as if in readi- 
ness to make or repel a mounted charge. Several cannon of the 
enemy had begun to shell the woods through which our line ran, 
and one of our guns, placed on the edge of the pike in front of 
a blacksmith shop, was making rapid replies to them. It soon 
became evident that a Federal regiment was charging down the 
pike on our gun, and the order "Forward!" was given to us. 
We took the gallop in platoons, and struck the First Maine 
Cavalry just as they surrounded our gun, where a desperate 
encounter had begun between their leading files and our can- 
noneers. These dashing men began to wheel and retreat as we 
reached them, and one whom I chanced to notice, having de- 
layed his wheeling too long, was shot by the bugler of our 
company, and fell to the ground near our cannon. 

We were able to pursue these Maine men but a short dis- 
tance before their heavy skirmish line, on both the right and left, 
checked us with their fire, and very quickly the Tenth Penn- 
sylvania Regiment, hastening to support the one we had met, 
came bearing down on us in most threatening style. The hand- 
to-hand encounter that ensued between us and these men of 
Maine and Pennsylvania was sharp and bloody. 

One of them, I observed, who had been unhorsed, and had 
backed up against an oak in the grove, and having fired his last 
cartridge, was defending himself with rocks, which he furi- 
ously hurled at his assailants until he fell from their pistol shots 
dead at the roots of the tree. Another soldier in blue, young, 
handsome and studentlike, had his horse shot under him near 
me, and I called to him to hand me his arms. Looking mo- 
mentarily for another charge by a friendly regiment, and so 
hoping to be liberated, he was slow in unfastening his sable belt, 
and when I struck him on the shoulder with the side of my 
sword to make him hasten the operation, he undertook to re- 
monstrate against my striking a prisoner. As I was hurrying 
him back at a double-quick, the eyes of a fallen soldier lying 
on the ground over which we had charged, and gazing up into 
my face, arrested my attention, and sent a pang through me as 



Cavalry Engagements at Middleburg and Upperville 103 

I recognized his face as that of my own captain (John W. 
Hungerford), a brave officer and a cherished friend, who had 
been pierced through the brain by a bullet. 

At this stage of the engagement, Colonel Chambliss having 
halted me, directed me to gallop into the woods to our left and 
see that a proper number of videttes were placed on the look- 
out for the safety of our line of sharpshooters, posted behind 
stone fences, and now thought to be in danger of being cut off. 
After reaching this line and performing my mission, as I was 
turning my horse to ride back, one of the men called attention 
to the blood on my leg, and, looking down, I saw my trousers 
red down to my shoe. It caused me a momentary feeling of 
fear that I had been shot and was bleeding profusely, but 
quickly I satisfied myself that in our charge I had only come 
into contact with a badly wounded horse. 

After this engagement, we took a position farther back on 
the road to Upperville, where it was comparatively quiet the 
next day. General Pleasanton, commanding the Federal cav- 
alry, having deemed it prudent to re-enforce his command with 
a division of infantry, and was now awaiting their arrival. Such 
a division, three brigades strong, reached Middleburg that af- 
ternoon, and were, under their able and efficient general, James 
Barnes, ready to co-operate in a movement against us early the 
next day. Meanwhile Pleasanton had obtained from General 
Meade his sanction to his making an attack on Stuart with his 
whole available force, or "to throw it at once," as he said, "upon 
Stuart's whole force, and cripple it up." 

Very early the next day, Pleasanton proceeded to execute his 
purpose by advancing on Stuart's line, as well as by threatening 
his position with the movement of Buford's powerful brigade 
some distance to his right. No sooner had the action well begun 
on the turnpike leading to Upperville than our brigade was 
ordered off to the left to operate along with Jones's brigade, 
on the road on which Buford was advancing. 

To reach this (Trappe Road, as it was called), it was neces- 
sary for us to march along a very narrow one parallel with 
the enemy's skirmish line, in which the supporting infantry had 
become distinctly visible, and along the course of this narrow 
road were numerous large rocks protruding above the ground. 
As we marched near these, the Federal bullets whirred by our 



I04 ^ Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

heads and were heard striking the rocks in a manner neither 
comforting nor musical. We got on the route by which Buford 
was seeking to turn Stuart's flank ahead of him and disputed 
and delayed his advance with our skirmishers. In these move- 
ments, which consumed nearly all the day, we could hear the 
nring on the turnpike, indicating severe fighting. 

As we approached Upperville, it became apparent that the 
enemy's rapid advance would cut of¥ our artillery and wagons, 
and that our pace needed to be quickened. We therefore took 
the trot, and the regiment in front of us in doing so became very 
much stretched out, causing later considerable delay in closing 
up their ranks, so that before we could get in order to charge 
Buford's men, they had taken a strong position behind fences 
on a hill, both their skirmish line and their infantry. 

One or more of their mounted regiments dashed down to- 
wards the road, as if to secure our guns and wagons, and we, 
after breaking gaps in a stone wall, entered a field to meet them. 
We charged, as did Jones's regiments, not in well-ordered ranks, 
but rather each man for himself, and drove the mounted men 
before us, but soon found ourselves exposed to the fire of the 
carbineers and infantry, and were forced to retire with heavy 
loss. In doing so we were, in turn, charged, and had to face 
about to meet a second onset, and deemed ourselves fortunate 
to get back through the stone wall without being captured or hit. 

Meanwhile, the other regiments of Stuart's command, under 
Hampton, had been hotly pressed on the pike, where he had lost 
a gun and was retiring towards Ashby's Gap. After doing 
what we could to bring off our wounded, we followed our guns 
up into the mountain pass held by our infantry. 

In the fighting that afternoon, I had seen our lieutenant- 
colonel, who was riding near me, shot through and through and 
made a prisoner, the bullet that wounded him having passed 
out at his back, making a rent in his coat near the seam, in its 
exit. I had seen Lieutenant Robinson, commanding my com- 
pany, fall wounded into the enemy's hands. A number of 
brave comrades — Turner, Greenlaw, Gutridge, and McKildoe 
— had been wounded badly. While rallying with a few others 
near one of our guns, I had seen a young soldier galloping across 
the line of the gun's aim at the fatal moment of its discharge 
and the solid shot strike him, and his headless body fall heavily 



Cavalry Engagements at Middleburg and Upperville 105 

to the ground, while his riderless horse rushed on. 

With such impressions, I fell to sleep that night behind our 
infantry, and such memories followed me from Upperville, 
which nestles now so peacefully and pleasantly at the foot of 
the Blue Ridge. This day's conflicts marked, on the whole, the 
worst discomfiture Stuart's Division had ever yet met, and the 
enemy, much elated over it, sent our captured piece to Washing- 
ton for exhibition as a trophy. 

We learned at the close of this battle that the colonel of 
Hampton's command who led the last charge on the pike lead- 
ing to Upperville was killed, and that Major Heros Von 
Borcke, the Prussian officer who had acted on Stuart's staff 
for more than a year, had been badly wounded while riding at 
Stuart's side. It may be said that this officer of distinguished 
gallantry greatly endeared himself to Stuart's command, and his 
name has since become a favorite, second to none, as applied to 
fine horses in Virginia. 



CHAPTER XVI 

HOW THE REPULSE OF THE FEDERAL CAVALRY AT BRANDY STA- 
TION AFFECTED GENERAL MILROY AT WINCHESTER 

TTT'HATEVER effect the hard-fought battle by Stuart against 
^^ Pleasanton on June 9, 1863, may have had on the armies 
under Lee and Hooker, it was not without some important bear- 
ing on the fortune of the Federal forces in the Valley, in and 
around Winchester, Major-General R. H. Milroy, command- 
ing 7,000 troops of that city, had been for several weeks much 
exercised in mind over a contemplated raid by Stuart, and had 
advised the calling into the field of the militia of three powerful 
states in order to repel him. The probability of these daring 
troopers crossing the mountains and appearing in his front 
haunted his imagination apparently to the exclusion of all 
thought that any infantry of Lee's army possibly could do the 
like. When, on June nth, the advance brigade of the army ap- 
peared beyond the Blue Ridge, General Milroy still nursed this 
delusion. "On Friday," he wrote, "when I perceived indications 
of the approach of the enemy on the Front Royal road, I felt 
confident it was composed of the forces I had faced, or that the 
expected cavalry expedition of General Stuart was in progress." 

Although admonished repeatedly by the authorities in Wash- 
ington through General Schenk, his corps commander, of the 
danger of attempting to hold Winchester, and of the better de- 
fenses afforded at Harper's Ferry, so fully possessed was he with 
the belief that he was there only exposed to cavalry and horse 
artillery that as late as June 12th, he said in a message to 
Schenk: "I am therefore decidedly of opinion that every dictate 
of interest, policy, humanity, patriotism, and bravery require that 
we should not yield a foot of this country up to the traitors 
again." 

To fulfill the more certainly his wish and purpose to hold 
Winchester, he dispatched on June nth, a number of messages. 
In one to General Schenk, at Baltimore, he said: "I have the 
place well fortified and am prepared to hold it. * * * I 
can and would hold it against any force the rebels can afford to 

106 



Repulse of Federal Cavalry at Brandy Station 107 

bring against me." Again, to Don Piatt, of Schenk's staff, he re- 
ported: "I am perfectly certain of my ability to hold this place." 
Piatt, having been sent to personally examine Milroy's defenses, 
wired Schenk in his behalf: *'Just in from inspection of fortifi- 
cations and troops. All looks finfc. Can whip anything the reb- 
els can fetch here." 

On June 12th, Milroy again informed Schenk: "The fortifi- 
cations on the hill near this place are now so perfect and all ap- 
proaches to them so well protected by outworks that I can hold 
them against five times our number." On the same day he as- 
sured the above officer: "Nothing but cavalry appears. Let 
them come. I am entirely ready for them. I can hold the place." 

On the morning following, he notified Schenk: "Enemy ap- 
pearing in strong force. Infantry and artillery on the Strasburg 
road. Elliott pitching into them. Any extra star very much in 
the way. I ought to be there myself. Will get them if Elliott 
falls back." At nine P. M. of this day (June 13th) he again in- 
formed his superior at Baltimore: "McReynolds will soon be 
here; * * * he is closely pursued and hard pressed by a 
heavy body of cavalry. They will surround, but can't take my 
fortifications." At ten P. M. he again notified him: "I was 
sharply engaged with the enemy on last evening; prospect of a 
general engagement, but will hold this place in spite of fate." 
Before the night of the thirteenth set in he was made aware by 
the capture of a Louisiana prisoner that General Ewell's troops 
were in his front and reported to Schenk: "Ewell's (Jackson's 
old) corps are all in front of us." 

Whatever confidence Milroy may have felt in his "ability to 
hold the place," it was a feeling by no means shared by Schenk 
and the Washington authorities, and the intelligence that Jack- 
son's old corps was at Winchester greatly increased their un- 
easiness. 

On the morning of the fourteenth Schenk wired General Dan 
Tyler at Martinsburg: "If possible, offer relief to Milroy by the 
Harper's Ferry and Winchester road," President Lincoln having 
already urged Schenk: "Get General Milroy from Winchester 
to Harper's Ferry if possible. He will be 'gobbled up' if he re- 
mains." To this latter message Schenk replied : "I am doing 
all I can to get Milroy back towards Harper's Ferry. * * * 
The rebels appear to have pushed on beyond him rapidly and im- 



lo8 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

petuously, and are reported approaching Martinsburg." Again 
Lincoln inquired: "Is Milroy invested so that he cannot fall 
back to Harper's Ferry?" 

At three P. M. General Tyler telegraphed Schenk from Mar- 
tinsburg: "General Milroy is in a tight place. If he gets out, 
it will be by good luck and hard fighting ; not a straggler in from 
his army yet; it is neck or nothing." 

A courier sent by Milroy in the night brought word to Schenk 
that "if he (Milroy) could not fall back, he could sustain him- 
self and hold his position for five days," and a message went to 
him from Schenk saying: "Our forces have evacuated Martins- 
burg and fallen back to Harper's Ferry. You must hold out to 
the last, and then use j^our judgment as to cutting your way 
out." 

The door of hope for help to Milroy being closed in Schenk's 
department west of the mountains, Lincoln looked to Hooker to 
send him relief from east of them, and at 5.50 P. M. telegraphed 
that general: "So far as we can make out here, the enemy have 
Milroy surrounded in Winchester, and Tyler at Martinsburg. 
If they could hold out a few days, could you help them? If the 
head of Lee's army is at Martinsburg and the tail of it is on 
the Plank Road between Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, 
the animal must be very slim somewhere. Could you not break 
him?" To this Hooker in part replied: "I do not feel like mak- 
ing a move for an enemy until I am satisfied as to his where- 
abouts. To proceed to Winchester and have him make his ap- 
pearance elsewhere would subject me to ridicule." 

Thus gloomily sank the sun on Milroy at Winchester June 
14th, 1863. A message to Schenk on the following day from 
him at Harper's Ferry read : "They carried my outer works by 
storm, six o'clock Sunday evening. I spiked all my guns Sunday 
night and left with the whole of my command quietly at one 
o'clock this morning. * * * i gQ^ through, but my force 
was greatly scattered and shattered^ We were pursued by a 
large cavalry force, who picked up numbers of our weary boys." 

General Ewell, whose troops made the assault on the outer 
works at Winchester on Sunday evening, reported concerning 
Milroy 's quiet retreat on the night following: "Anticipating the 
possibility of the enemy's attempting to retreat during the night, 
I ordered General (Edward) Johnson, with the Stonewall, 



Repulse of Federal Cavalry at Brandy Station 109 

Nichols and three regiments of Stuart's Brigades, and Dement's 
battery, with sections of Raines's and Carpenter's, to proceed to 
a point on the Martinsburg Pike, about two and one-half miles 
from Winchester, so as to intercept any attempt to retreat. * * * 
Just as the head of his column reached the railroad, 200 yards 
from the Martinsburg Road, the enemy were heard retreating 
down the pike toward Martinsburg. * * * Here was the 
hardest fighting which took place during the attack. * * * 
After several front attacks had been steadily met and repulsed, 
they attempted to turn both flanks simultaneously, but were met 
on the right by General Walker and his brigade, * * * 
and on the left, by two regiments of Nichols's Brigade. * * * 
In a few minutes, the greater part of them surrendered, 2,300 to 
2,500 in number. The rest scattered through the woods and 
fields, but most of them were subsequently captured by our cav- 
alry. General Milroy, with 250 or 300 cavalry, made his way 
to Harper's Ferry. 

"The fruits of this victory w^ere twenty-three pieces of artil- 
lery (nearly all rifled), 4,000 prisoners, 300 loaded wagons, 
more than 300 horses and quite a large amount of commissary 
and quartermasters' stores." 

On the same day that Milroy made report of the calamitous 
ending of his occupancy of Winchester, the commander-in-chief, 
Halleck, wired a command to Schenk: "Don't give General Mil- 
roy any command at Harper's Ferry; we have had enough of 
that sort of military genius." 



CHAPTER XVII 

GENERAL STUART's GETTYSBURG RAID 

T T may be readily inferred from the letter given below that 
^ many misgivings were felt among his men at the time as to 
the prudence and wisdom of General Stuart's movement by 
which he placed three brigades of his command on the farther 
side of Meade's army instead of between it and Lee's, on the 
advance to Gettysburg. Many prominent officers, including 
colonels, deemed the enterprise ill-judged and hazardous. Never- 
theless, it should not be forgotten that General Stuart in un- 
dertaking to get around the rear and on the farther side of the 
Northern army, left three of the strongest cavalry brigades — 
Jones's, Robinson's and Jenkin's, in addition to Imboden's, to 
act in front of and on the flanks of Lee's advancing column. 

Further, it deserves to be considered that General Long- 
street on the day of Stuart's battle at Upperville, said in his 
message to him, referring to General Lee: "He speaks of your 
leaving via Hopewell Gap, and passing by the rear of the enemy. 
If you can get through by that route, I think that you will be 
less likely to indicate what our plans are than if you should 
cross by passing to our rear." A letter from General Lee to 
Stuart on June 23d, the day previous to his setting out on his 
expedition, said : "You will be able, however, to judge whether 
you can pass around their army without hindrance, doing them' 
all the damage you can, and cross the river east of the moun- 
tains." Stuart had communicated with General Lee as to the 
proposed movement and in his subsequent report to him said: 
"The commanding General wrote me authorizing the move, if 
I deemed it practicable." 

Two things should be borne in mind in deciding if censure 
was properly incurred by Stuart, or not, in his unfortunately 
delayed march to Gettysburg. The first is the effort he was 
enjoined to make to divert the enemy's observation of Lee's 
movements, and the second, the charge to him to inflict on the 
enemy the utmost possible damage. Here follows the letter: 

IIO 



General Stuart's Gettysburg Raid III 

"Four Miles North West of 
"Williamsport, Md., July 13, 1863. 

"Dearest Mother: — My last letter was written in Loudoun 
County, and so hurriedly, and under such circumstances, as to 
render it very brief and unsatisfactory, I have no doubt. In 
that letter, I informed you of the many trails and dangers we 
had passed through, and how the tender mercy of our gracious 
Heavenly Father had so wonderfully attended us, and how 
through it we had been spared in health and soundness. How 
few and trivial were the dangers, I then referred to, compared 
with those through which we have since passed, and if such 
were possible how more vast and boundless the conpassionate 
care and love of Him who ordaineth all things well! We are 
yet alive and well. Surely our hearts should melt in gratitude 
to God for the privilege of being able to say so. I am this 
morning lying flat upon the ground under a very low-pitched 
leaky shelter, our horses saddled and bridled and we in momen- 
tary expectation of being called on to fight. Meanwhile, the 
rain is descending in torrents, so dampening my paper as to 
render it almost useless to attempt to use ink opon it. Under 
these circumstances, I am sure that I'll not be able to write 
you such a letter as our long silence should lead you to expect. 

"Upon the very date that I wrote to you last, our brigade 
with Gen. Fitz Lee's and Hampton's started from Loudoun in 
a Southernly direction, encamping at night for a few hours at 
Salem in Fauquier. This move considering the northward 
direction our army was marching, filled us all with astonish- 
ment, and was one, the mystery of which none of us could 
understand. The fact that General Stuart headed the expedi- 
tion led many of us to understand that our journey southward 
would not continue long. Leaving Salem at three o'clock 

Thursday morning, June , we moved through Thoroughfare 

Gap, and a little beyond the rugged mountain attacked a wagon 
train, but did nothing more than to throw some shells in among 
them. 

"The night was rainy and disagreeable, and we spent it with- 
out shelters or fires. The next day we moved to attack the 
enemy at Bristoe Station, but they had fled before we got there. 
Continuing our march that day, we halted near Frying Pan 
shoales for the night. 



112 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

"We started very early Saturday morning, and that day at- 
tacked the enemy at Fairfax Court ^ouse, routed them, captur- 
ing many prisoners and stores, and secured rations for which 
the men were suffering much. There were many nice things 
taken here, and consumed by us 'ravenous rebs.' Having him 
in anticipation of an attack by the enemy all the time we were 
at the place no opportunity was offered to many of us to secure 
the valuable merchandise with which the sutlers' stores were 
*well supplied, but pursuing on, we came to Davisville, where 
we remained in line of battle till dark, and then filing off into 
hidden paths in the woods, proceeded to the Potomac which 
by a difficult and dangerous ford, after some delay, we passed 
in safety, and spent the night in the hills beyond in line of 
battle. 

"At light we moved forward, engaged the enemy a mile from 
the river, routed and drove them off in confusion, killing and 
capturing a few, and then halted for a few minutes to feed, 
before commencing the march for Rockville, near which town 
General Hampton was in line of battle, having had a little 
fight in which he captured some prisoners and wagons. Gen- 
eral Hampton, supposing the enemy to be in force near the 
town, waited for us to come up before making an attack. When 
we arrived, a charge was ordered by the squadron I commanded, 
with Company K taking a road leading to the right and Com- 
pany C moving straight down the Georgetown Pike. We 
charged down the pike for six miles or more, captured nearly 
two hundred wagons of the finest kind, eight hundred mules, 
the most magnificent I ever saw, besides many prisoners and 
runaway negro teamsters. The last wagon caught was within 
a few miles of Georgetown. Many of the elegant wagons 
were overturned and broken in their flight, and burnt by us, and 
many of the drivers (especially the negro) abandoning their 
teams escaped in the woods on either side. The wagon train 
extended for four miles, and the chase and fight were the most 
interesting, exciting and filled more with ludicrous scenes than 
any I ever before witnessed. It was truly sad to observe the 
frequent piles of wagons and mules which in different places 
blocked the road. In several places, I saw as many as four 
wagons with their teams, drivers, and bales of hay, all piled 
together indiscriminately under an embankment, or in a gully, 



General Stuart's Gettysburg Raid 1 13 

with the poor mules fallen on the ground, and struggling in vain 
with their feet in the air beneath the heavily laden wagons and 
the strong harness which held them suffering in their places. 
Returning to Rockville, we were joined by Fitz Lee, who had 
been operating on a different road, and who brought with him 
many prisoners, and among them a number of contrabands, 
who were recognized and claimed. There were some known 
to me, among whom was one of uncle Tom Brown's, two of 
Col. F. W. Cox's, and one of J. W. Branson's, besides several 
free-negroes. 

"From Rockville we continued the march towards the Balti- 
more and Ohio Railroad leading by Frederick City. We trav- 
elled all night, moved the track and burned a part of it the 
next morning. This day we marched all day and had a sharp 
fight at Westminster in which the 4th regiment lost two Lieu- 
tenants, Pierre Gibson and John W. Murray. The enemy were 
routed and most of them captured, and many stores fell into 
our hands, which were either appropriated or destroyed. 

"The men, now well nigh exhausted, were allowed four 
hours' rest, after which we again started and proceeded towards 
Hanover in Pennsylvania. Reaching Hanover we learned the 
enemy held the place in force. Both men and horses being worn 
out, all of us regarded the prospect of a fight with no little regret 
and anxiety. No time was to be lost though and while I was 
sent with a small party to the left to guard against the enemy's 
flanking in from that direction unnoticed, the 13th, gth and 2nd 
N. C. regiments were ordered to charge. The charge was made 
and the enemy driven from the town. But our men were soon 
turned upon by the enemy, or else attacked by another force, 
and driven back in confusion. We lost a number of men, prin- 
cipally from the N. C. regiment. Our Company lost E. D. 
Brown, shot in the knee badly, and William Franklin, missing, 
and thought to be killed. Being on the left, I did not partici- 
pate in the charge, and do not know how our men acted, but I 
feel quite sure if they had done their duty bravely, we would 
have captured the town and held it. Having failed to do this, 
all of us seemed to regard our situation as critical. Blockaded 
in front, but twenty miles from the Yankee army, and encum- 
bered by an immense wagon train and a retinue of more than a 
thousand prisoners, broken down men and horses, it did look 



114 ^ Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

critical! After fighting the eneijiy for several hours with our 
sharpshooting and shelling, the town quite furiously, thereby 
giving most of our men time to move around the town and get 
several miles away, we withdrew without being pursued. 

"In the day's fight we killed and captured as many of the enemy 
as we lost, though Col. (W. H.) Payne of the 4th regiment and 
Captain Billingsly of the 9th and several minor officers were 
captured from us. We marched all night and the next day, and 
arrived in front of Carlisle about dark. It was here that we 
confidently expected to meet our troops, but what was our 
surprise (and almost dismay) when we learned that Gen. Ewell 
had left the place twenty-four hours before, and that quite a 
large force of Yankees held the town. It is impossible for me to 
give you a correct idea of the fatigue and exhaustion of our men 
and beasts at this time. From our great exertion, constant men- 
tal excitement, want of sleep and food, the men were overcome 
and so tired and stupid as almost to be ignorant of what was 
taking place around them. Couriers in attempting to deliver 
orders to officers would be compelled to give them a shake and 
call before they could make them understand. This was true 
of Colonels. As for men though in line and in momentary ex- 
pectation of being made to charge, they would throw themselves 
over on their horses' necks, and some even down on the ground 
and fall asleep. As soon as we reached the town, General Stuart 
sent in an order for its surrender, which w^as refused. A charge 
was made but repulsed by the enemy who fired on our men from 
the windows of brick buildings. After this General Stuart 
placed his artillery in position and opened a terrible cannonade 
to which the Pennsylvanians made a feeble reply. 

"Weak and helpless as we now were our anxiety and uneasi- 
ness grew to be painful indeed. Thoughts of saving wagons were 
now gone from many of us, and we began to consider only how 
we ourselves might escape. But this was not so with (that 
lady's man) Stuart. He seemed neither to suppose that his train 
was in danger nor that his men were not in a condition to fight. 
He could not have appeared more composed or indifferent, with 
fresh men and horses and no incumbrances. Most of us were 
kept in our saddles to fight till midnight, though neither the 
prospect of a melee nor the thunder of artillery, nor the bright 
red glare of a burning town in the enemy's country kept me 



General Stuart's Gettysburg Raid 1 15 

awake. About twelve o'clock we started, with the wagons mov- 
ing behind us and Fitz Lee's brigade in the rear of them, and 
travelled till nearly daylight, when we stopped on the summit 
of South mountain. The mountain side was yet illumined by 
the burning at Carlisle. Tired — exhausted — as I was — I could 
not but reflect as I looked back on the burning town on the 
wickedness, the horrors of this felt war. 

*Trightened women driven with screaming children in terror 
from burning homes, could not have suffered much more keen- 
ly than did many of the Vandal rebels' who with supposed 
'fiendish delight' were beholding the conflagration at Carlisle 
that night. I was made to feel unhappy indeed, and to pray, 
'God grant that terrible war may lead to early peace.' 

"Next morning found us on the mountain more jaded and 
wearied than I had ever seen our men before, but with our 
train safe and the enemy considerably behind us. This day we 
marched all day expecting all the while to be attacked on the 
flank by Yankee cavalry. About 12 m. we reached the pickets 
of our army. This ought to have been a source of profound 
relief and gratification, but was not, for our army was then 
engaged in the great battle of Gettysburg, and we well knew 
that as tired as we were there was to be no rest till it was over. 
We marched straight into position and commenced the fight 
about dark. We were ordered to remain mounted ready to 
drive the enemy back should he attempt to move that way that 
night, but General Stuart having been informed by one of the 
officers that there was a limit to human endurance, he replied, 
yes, and added that as he had noticed that one of our brigades 
in attempting to get over a fence had fallen asleep on the top 
of it, we should rest that night. Accordingly, we went back 
one quarter of a mile, fed our horses and spent the night in 
peace. 

"Next morning commenced early the hard day's fighting at 
Gettysburg. The appearance of light was welcomed by the 
roar of a few cannon, and as the sun rose higher and higher 
in the heavens louder and louder became the roar of heavy guns, 
and at breakfast time the thunder sound of artillery was deafen- 
ing. Then the peals became less loud, and until, perhaps, mid 
day or later the firing was not considered as very heavy. Mean- 
while, the cavalry was moved far down on the left of our line, 



Il6 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

and far away from the scene of carnage at Gettysburg. The 
guns there were audible to us though, and so furiously did they 
seem to fire that we knew a terrible scene of death and slaughter 
was being enacted there. 

"Though we were all day in line, and expecting to fight, we 
did not become engaged until about 12 o'clock, or later, when 
the Yankee cavalry made a powerful assault upon us. The com- 
bat did not last more at least than three or four hours, but was 
the fiercest I ever saw waged by cavalry. The enemy fought 
well and our men evinced no disposition to yield an inch of 
ground. The fight occurred on a plain. The enemy in vain 
sought to drive our sharpshooters back to the woods; did drive 
them back at several places, and at a moment when our men 
were hard pressed by their dismounted men, their (mounted) 
cavalry dashed forward in a charge to clear the field. Our 
regiment and the 13th, numbering in the charge not more than 
some 150 men apiece dashed forward likewise to meet this 
onset. We met them beyond a large barn at a fence over which 
neither party could readily get. They outnumbered us, and 
were well supported by their sharpshooters, yet we dismounted, 
pulled down the fence, and drove them from the field and 
through another, almost back to their artillery. We then fell 
back to our line of dismounted men, followed by new regiments 
of the enemy, who were in turn charged by another brigade 
(Hampton's) and driven from the field. 

"The loss of the enemy in the fight was decidedly heavy. We 
suffered considerably, but our loss is small, I think, compared 
to theirs. General Hampton who led the second charge was 
severely wounded. Ashton was killed in our company. Rust, 
Carroll and Palmer were wounded. Poor Ed. did not go into 
the fight, lost his horse and we feel sure was captured. A. 
Cox was left to nurse our wounded. 

"That night we marched several miles and spent the night 
in quietude. Next day we were in anticipation of a fight, but 
had none. We commenced in the evening a march after the 
Yankee cavalry, who were said to be pursuing our wagon trains. 
We marched all night and all the next day and had a fight in a 
pass of the mountain below Emmettsburg. We were in the 
saddle all the next night and reached Lietersburg where we 
learned we were close upon the enemy who had that day cap- 



General Stuart's Gettysburg Raid 1 17 

tured about thirty of our wagons, besides many prisoners. 

''Next day, we followed the enemy toward Hagerstown 
where we came up with him. This day we captured many 
prisoners who with those caught on yesterday amount to nearly 
three hundred. The fight at Hagerstown lasted nearly all day. 
My company was in three distinct charges. We killed and 
captured a great many Yankees. In the evening, we drove the 
enemy off, and General Stuart ordered us to follow them up. 
Our brigade endeavored to take a piece of artillery. We were 
in front, and we charged up almost to the mouth of the piece, 
they pouring the grape or canister into us. When we got close 
up to the gun, we found it so well protected by sharpshooters 
and cavalry supports, that we couldn't hold it. We accordingly 
left the pike, formed in the field, and fought until our support 
came up, when the enemy broke and fled, our men closely pur- 
suing. Our Company had now only a handful of men. 

"We lost but one in number, a host though in value, — or- 
derly-sergeant Richard Washington, than whom no truer, 
braver, spirit has yet been martyred in defence of Southern 
freedom. My horse (the fifth since I left Virginia) was broken 
down, and when Washington fell I paused to take a last look 
at him, one whom I had not known long, but had learned to 
respect, admire, and esteem. He spoke not a word after he fell, 
nor was there any evidence that he was alive visible, though with 
my hand on his breast, I felt his heart still to beat. I was driven 
from his body by a sudden dash of the enemy, before I could 
pull a gold ring from his finger, and ere I could return the blood 
had left his cheeks, and he lay painted in the sallow and ashy 
paleness of death. I remained near his side, after taking off his 
arms and effects and waited until arrangements could be made 
to carry his body off the field, and as I saw him wrapped in a 
worn blanket, distressed as I was, I felt a sense of relief. I 
contrasted the excitement, the strife, the horrors of this war, 
with the peace, the happiness, the bliss this Christian soldier 
has found in death. Peace to his ashes! 

"Your son affectionately, 

"G. W. Beale." 



CHAPTER XVIII 

AFTER GETTYSBURG IN '63 

'T~^HE following letter, written during the retreat of Lee's 
•^ army from Gettysburg, gives the impression of a Southern 
cavalryman gained during the progress of the great battle on 
that field. 

"Camp of the Ninth Virginia Cavalry, 

Near Leetown, Jefferson County, Va., 
July 16, 1863. 

"Dear M., — I wrote you a hurried scrawl a few days ago 
whilst near Williamsport, which I placed in Major A. G. 
Dade's hands, to be transmitted to you by the earliest convey- 
ance, but fearing lest that letter has not been yet sent, I will 
write again, hoping that through Wat Bowie I may find to-mor- 
row a means of sending it to you. 

"When I last wrote our whole army were resting on their 
arms, in anticipation of an early battle. Every disposition had 
been made on our side preparatory to a fierce conflict. General 
Lee had issued an order to the army admonishing them of the 
impending conflict, and urging upon them the importance of ex- 
hibiting in the fight more than ever that fortitude, zeal, and un- 
flinching bravery which they had shown on so many fields be- 
fore ; and General Stuart had notified us that we were about to 
engage in a 'bloody battle in which the cavalry would have a 
more than ordinary part to play.' Accordingly, all of us felt 
quite certain that Maryland's soil had to be again crimsoned 
with the blood of one of the most important and desperate bat- 
tles of the war. 

"Though the enemy continued to skirmish for several days 
along our lines, General Lee concluded that he had no intention 
of attacking him, -and on the night of the thirteenth ordered our 
whole army to withdraw across the (swollen) Potomac, which 
dangerous and difficult operation, through God's blessing, was 
successfully accomplished before ten o'clock next morning. 

"In consequence, the grand raid of the war may be said to 

118 



After Gettysburg in '63 119 

have terminated upon our return to Virginia soil, on the morn- 
ing of the fourteenth. Now you, and many others are disposed, I 
presume, to regard the return of General Lee as a defeat — sad 
and disastrous — to our arms. The Yankee nation is mad with 
excess of joy at 'the decisive and crushing blow' that has been 
dealt Lee and his army, and such scenes of jubilation as have 
been witnessed among them were never seen before. 

"I, for one, am pained that the Army of Northern Virginia 
should ever have fought a battle in regard to which there could 
be a possibility of dispute as to which side gained the victory. 
Hence, the result of the Gettysburg battle rather depressed me 
than otherwise. I thought we ought to have crushed and over- 
whelmed the Federal army — a glorious result which I felt to be 
within our easy grasp, and then to have pushed our victorious 
columns on to relieve Baltimore and capture Washington. But 
before the turning point came in the battle — at a time when our 
arms had triumphed at every contested point, before the fiercest 
conflict came, I felt uneasy, uncertain, that is, I lacked that con- 
fidence of victory and enthusiasm that I usually feel when a 
great battle commences. 

"I could not account for my feelings because every soldier 
with a musket (to such, you know, we look for victory) was in 
the finest spirits and seemingly would be happiest when ordered 
to give the foe the bayonet. My weak and exhausted condition, 
with the knowledge I possessed of the total inability of our cav- 
alry to successfully maintain a long fight, created the depression 
of spirits which I felt and which I construed into a presentiment 
of the failure of our army to achieve on that occasion the success 
with which God has heretofore so graciously rewarded its strug- 
gles. 

"The result of the battle did not greatly surprise me, of 
course, yet I was deeply pained at it, chiefly because it soon be- 
came evident to us all that the day was lost by bad management. 
The most unhappy page in the history of our campaign in Mary- 
land and Pennsylvania will be that which chronicles how that, 
when a small part of our troops had driven the enemy from 
their stronghold in dismay, they were induced to abandon their 
prize in a haste that resembled a panic, by the unnecessary, un- 
accountable, and unhappy flight of their powerful support, which 
was two hundred yards in their rear, and hadn't fired a gun 



I20 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

in the fight. Officers who participated in the struggle and wit- 
nessed it all, and who, I have no dOubt, know what they affirm 
to be true, assert that it was an easy task for a single brigade of 
our immense, unengaged reserve, or support, by rushing to the 
front on two occasions during Friday's fight to have secured for 
us as glorious a victory as ever perched upon an army's banners, 
and one as decisive and complete as ever destroyed an enemy. 

"P'ully convinced that it was the same unerring providence or- 
dering and ordaining the issue of the great battle that has on 
other occasions and other soil vouchsafed to us the blessings of 
victory, I was consoled ; and when I witnessed the still undaunt- 
ed spirit of most of our men ; saw in their manners and counte- 
nances the signs of the invincible determination of their minds, 
their zeal and readiness, yet to wring victory from the foe whom 
the result of that battle had not altered in their estimation. I 
thanked God it was no worse, and prayed that our failure to 
have a sufficient supply of ammunition, our mismanagement in 
other respects, and the consequent defeat of our noble general's 
plans might yet redound to our good. 

"And now when I cast a retrospective glance back upon the 
various scenes enacted in that campaign, the most remarkable, 
daring, and astounding ever performed by an army, and carefully 
consider each result, I feel grateful; and though there is much 
remembered to lament, regarding the whole, I am much encour- 
aged and think our cause has gained, our army added new lustre 
to its fame, and our illustrious commander risen higher in the 
estimation and dearer in the love and greater in the confidence 
of his followers. Noble Lee ! we think none the less of him for 
his having had to say to us in his general order: 'Your efforts 
have not been crowned with the success which has hitherto at- 
tended them ;' but we feel more than ever honored when he adds : 
'Your actions have evinced in a great degree that devotion to the 
cause and heroic bravery which challenge the respect of the 
enemy, and the admiration of mankind.' 

"There are rumors, as I write, that the enemy have crossed 
the Potomac and are advancing, though I cannot give you one 
morsel of fact in reference to their movements. Our horses 
are kept saddled, and men in their places as though a fight 
would occur at any minute; such may be likely. 

"The morale of the army is excellent, and through God's help, 



After Gettysburg in '63 121 

I have no fear of the Yankees gaining any great advantage over 
General Lee now, however, much in some quarters they claim 
his army partakes of the nature of a disorganized mob. Our 
Colonel remained with us long and faithfully, until every horse 
he could raise broke down. His own became lame, Dick's was 
stolen, and only regained yesterday, and mine worn out with 
long continued and too severe usage. He is now with the 
wagons, well in health and as much so in spirits as not being 
able to be with his regiment, the shattered condition of his com- 
mand, etc., etc., will allow. The boys all say 'Well, I thank 
you,' and are in good spirits. Ed Claybrook is missing, I much 
regret to say. His parents and sisters must patiently wait until 
time can reveal his whereabouts, and relieve their anxiety. He 
is safe, I feel sure; he was not lost in any fight, but left be- 
hind in our retreat from Gettysburg, having let his horse 
wander off in the clover. His horse. Red Eye, the shadow of a 
formerly magnificent steed, was then lost. Dick is with us. 
Bob at the wagons. Major Dade keeps our late captain with 
him, and the latter meanwhile is tossing about like a small boat 
in a squall without a rudder. I wish he could get poor Hun- 
gerford's place, but do not know what his chances are of doing 
so. Holliday is much troubled, and is troubling me with his 
substitute matter. He is of no use to Jeff Davis, and gives me 
more trouble than a full legion of good soldiers would. When 
he gets home again I hope his friends will keep him there, or 
that Miss Lizzie's apron strings may be long enough to tie 
him with. 

*'The brigade in which the Fortieth and Forty-seventh Regi- 
ments are, I learn was charged by Yankee cavalry day before 
yesterday. Besides General Pettigrew, mortally wounded, I 
have heard of no casualties. Having enough to eat now is a 
source of congratulation. May Heaven's smiles be upon your 
household ! 

"Your son, 

"G. W. B." 

On the morning the foregoing letter was written. Colonel 
James H. Drake, at the head of his regiment, the First Virginia, 
passed our encampment near Leetown. We were soon after- 
wards in the saddle and marching towards Sheperdstown on 



122 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

the Potomac. 

While Lee's army lay in their etitrenchments before Wil- 
liamsport and Falling Waters, with the swollen Potomac be- 
hind them, and Meade's heavily reinforced army confronting 
them, a finely conceived plan by the Federal commander was 
to have a heavy force of cavalry proceed by way of Harper's 
Ferry to the south side of the Potomac, and get on the roads 
leading up the valley, and thus destroy Lee's trains, interrupt 
his communications, and obstruct his re-crossing the Potomac. 
For this enterprise. General D. McD. Gregg was chosen, and 
he set out with his division to accomplish it, followed by Gen. 
Buford with strong brigade to assist him. 

Lee's army reached the Virginia shore safely on the night of 
July 13th, and the following morning, all unknown to Gregg, 
who having taken his command over the Potomac marched to- 
wards Shepardstown, in the vicinity of which he appeared on 
the morning of September i6th. It was for the purpose of 
attacking Gregg's troops and defeating his plans that Stuart's 
regiments were now in motion. 

The ground around Sheperdstown was open in the main 
with here and there a body of timber. Heavy lines of sharp- 
shooters were deployed and advanced dismounted, and their 
fire quickly checked the Federal advance. Artillery became 
warmly engaged on each side, every gun being plainly visible 
from where I was. Stuart having been called away, Fitz Lee 
directed the battle on the Southern side. On no other field, 
perhaps, were guns used after the custom of a holiday or grand 
review occasion. Occupying a long line across the fields with 
cavalry in supporting distance, they were fired by piece, one 
after another, again by sections, and again simultaneously. 

It became apparent that our force outnumbered the enemy's; 
it was known that the swollen river behind them was im- 
passable; and we were informed that one of our brigades had 
gone into position between them and Harper's Ferry, and 
would hold the roads in that direction against any attempt to 
escape in the darkness. Hence, when "night silenced our guns, 
we went to sleep, confidently anticipating that Gregg was 
caught in a trap from which he could not extricate himself. 
Soldiers, probably, never looked forward to a day more certain 
in their feelings that it would bring a great success to them, and 



After Gettysburg in "63 1 23 

disaster to their enemies. 

The approach of day on the following morning dispelled all 
our fine calculations. A Federal cavalry brigade having come 
up from Harper's Ferry to support General Gregg, that astute 
and prudent officer availed himself of the opportunity to escape, 
and silently withdrevi^ his regiments under cover of the darkness. 

It was only an hour or so after I had seen Colonel Drake in 
the morning ride past, presenting so fine and stalwart a figure, 
with his heavy massive beard touching his breast, that he had 
fallen in the battle and was borne from the field for burial. 

The attempt, however, to get in Lee's rear, interrupt his 
communications and obstruct his retreating army had signally 
failed. 



A 



CHAPTER XIX 

ENGAGEMENT AT CULPEPER COURTHOUSE, SEPTEMBER 1 3, 1 863 

COURIER dashed up to the headquarters of Chambliss's 

Cavalry Brigade while the stars were yet thinning on the 

morning of September 13th, 1863, and bore the following order: 

"Colonel R. L. T. Beale, commanding cavalry brigade — at a 

gallop, important — Headquarters Cavalry Corps, A. N. V., 

3.30 A. M., September 13th, 1863: 

"Colonel, — There is every reason to expect an advance of the 

enemy's cavalry by Rixey's and Beverley's Fords, as well as by 

the Fleetwood front, very early this morning. Have your camp 

packed up and your wagons sent to the rear and be ready for any 

emergency. Notify your pickets and communicate with General 

Lomax. 

"By command of 

"GENERAL STUART, 
"H. B. McCLELLAN, 

"Major and A. A. G." 

The brigade on the bright Sunday morning in question was 
encamped in the groves of S. S. Bradford's splendid farm, be- 
tween Brandy Station and Culpeper, and before daylight the 
wagons, ambulances, and camp equipage were in lively motion 
towards the latter place. They scarcely had reached the road 
and disappeared in the distance before the command had 
mounted, moved out and had a very long line of skirmishers de- 
ployed to resist those of the enemy who were pushing forward 
rapidly. 

It soon became evident from the superior forces of the Federal 
cavalry advancing from towards Brandy, and the preponderance 
of their artillery, that nothing remained for our regiments to do 
but to fall back towards the town of Culpeper. In this move- 
ment, a heavy fusilade was kept up by the skirmish lines and ar- 
tillery on each side, and a bullet striking the leg and splintering 
the bone of Colonel Beale compelled his withdrawal from the 
field. This change of commanders occurred at an unfortunate 
moment when the brigade had reached the sloping ground of the 

124 



Engagement at Culpeper Courthouse, Sept. 13, 1863 125 

George, Wallack, and Taliaferro fields, with the Mountain Run 
in the valley below, and no cover to shield our troops from the 
artillery fire from the high ground behind us. 

As we contested the advance of Kilpatrick's regiments, led 
by Custer and Davis, his brigadiers, Lomax's Brigade, appeared 
to our right hotly pursued by that of Buford. It seemed a prob- 
lem now to dispose our men and guns so as to cross the fords 
above and below the railroad bridge without an awkward con- 
gestion and a murderous fire from the Federal artillery on our 
crowded masses. 

These guns, commanded by Lieutenant Jacob H. Cornselman 
(Battery K, First United States Artillery) were soon in posi- 
tion on the Wallack heights, and their fire was begun. A train 
at the station in Culpeper, on which our wounded and valuable 
supplies had been placed, attracted the aim of these guns, and 
their shells passed high over our heads and burst over the train 
as it steamed away. 

That portion of my regiment with which I crossed Mountain 
Run led so near the railroad bridge, at a point that my school- 
day sports of swimming and skating had made familiar to me, 
and after following the track several hundred yards we turned 
into the field, leaving the female institute to our right and pro- 
ceeded towards the crest of hills in the direction of Mount 
Poney, south of Culpeper. In this march we now became ex- 
posed to the Federal battery on the hills behind us, and their 
guns were well aimed. One shell, I recall, exploded a little 
ahead of me, sent some of the fragments with fatal effect into 
the neck and head of Private Lem Barker's horse, while it cut, 
at the same time, through Barker's clothing without the least in- 
jury to his person. His pocketbook, worn in the breast pocket 
of his shirt, was torn into fragments and the money which it con- 
tained also. I saw one fragment of a Confederate note, which 
had been thrown into the air, float down to the earth, a parti- 
cle so small as barely to afford the figures "X" space on it, as I 
detected with a passing glance. 

While we were hastening to the high ground south of the 
town, the contest became very warm in its streets, where a piece 
of artillery, supported by a part of our regiment, fell into the 
enemy's hands, as did two other pieces at other points, which 
appear to have been without support. The charge by a part of 



126 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

the brigade on the enemy approacljing the town, was sketched 
by a correspondent of the London Times, who was with the 
Federals at the time, and forms one of the most spirited and 
realistic war scenes to which the great struggle gave rise. 

We had not formed into position on the ridge which we had 
been ordered to occupy, before it became apparent that several 
Federal regiments were endeavoring to push their way to the 
same point. While getting ready to charge them, some of our 
men urged their horses unwittingly into a patch of briars, from 
which there issued such a swarm of hornets as began to sting 
both men and horses and throw them into disorder. At this in- 
opportune moment, the First Vermont Cavalry began to emerge 
from the timber on the slope of the hills, and were met and driv- 
en back by a charge on our part. At this point, Richard Corbin, 
of the Caroline troop, who had just returned from a furlough, 
fell under my ej^es, as a fatal bullet hurled his manly form to 
the earth. 

A heavy cavalry force, against which two charges were made, 
advancing with a view to flank us on the left, and the appearance 
of an infantry corps of the Federal army (General Warren's) 
following close behind the cavalry, made it necessary for us to 
fall back from our line to another until, towards nightfall, we 
crossed the Rapidan and rested on the Orange hills with our 
trains, which furnished us some much-needed provisions for men 
and horses. 

The enemy's guns were active during this retreat, and some 
skirmishing was done, but after leaving the vicinity of Culpeper, 
I scarcely heard the whiz of a bullet. A fine horse, which had 
been horribly gashed by a shell in the side, and whose entrails 
were protruding from the wound, dashed from a field towards 
me, on the march, giving vent to piteous shrieks of pain as it ran, 
and, having reached me, threw its head appealingly over my 
horse's neck. Seeing its hopeless case, I drew my pistol and 
placed it back of its eye and fired it, and the noble steed fell to 
the ground in the convulsive, but painless, rigor of death. 

General Stuart made no report of this day's operations that 
has been saved, but General Lee informed the President of them, 
and addded as to Stuart: 

"He was greatly outnumbered, the enemy having three divi- 
sions of cavalry with infantry, and he having three brigades, 



Engagement at Culpeper Courthouse, Sept. 13, 1S63 127 

Fitz. Lee's being still at Fredericksburg. ... It may be a 
reconnoisance in force merely, but I have made preparations in 
case it should be an advance of the whole force." 

An incident of the engagement in the town of Culpeper may 
deserve to be chronicled. In the operations of the cavalry during 
the previous months, not a few of our men had had occasion to 
observe in Custer's Brigade, either belonging to his stafi or one 
of his regiments, a conspicuously white horse of fine size and ac- 
tion. On this occasion, after the combat in the streets of the 
town, W. W. Palmer of the Ninth Virginia Cavalry, emerged 
from it, leading this familiar horse with its fine equipment, but 
without a rider. During all his subsequent military service Pal- 
mer rode this white horse, and when on the retreat to Appomat- 
tox he was captured, among the dismounted men, and taken to 
Point Lookout, among his griefs was the feeling that he would 
not again see this much loved animal. But, after his release, on 
reaching home the first object that greeted his eye was this horse, 
which a faithful comrade had saved and sent home for him. He 
was later enabled with its use to accomplish a successful court- 
ship, and when at length it died, its memory was endeared in his 
mind with thoughts of both war and love. 



CHAPTER XX 

SECOND CAVALRY FIGHT AT BRANDY STATION 

'T^ HE morning of October 9th, 1863, presented a most in- 
■*■ teresting series of movements on the wide field of opera- 
tions occupied by the armies under Meade and Lee. Despite 
the unfavorable result of the Gettysburg campaign to the army 
of Northern Virginia, its commander, with his characteristic 
boldness, was moving across the Rapidan to offer his an- 
tagonists the wage of battle on the Culpeper fields. On the 
day following, Lee's corps had entered that county and were 
pushing across it towards Meade's army. General Stuart, with 
Hampton's division (that general having not yet recovered from 
his Gettysburg wound) was moving in advance towards Cul- 
peper Court House and on the flank of Ewell's and Hill's regi- 
ments in front, while General Meade's troops began to fall 
back before him. At the same time, that general, uncertain of 
Lee's movements, had directed Brigadier-General John Bu- 
ford, with a division of cavalry, to cross to the south side of the 
Rapidan and proceed towards Orange Court House with a view 
to discover what was on foot in the Southern lines. 

Buford crossed the Rapidan and found the intrenchments 
lately held by Lee's infantry unoccupied, but his further progress 
was obstructed by the Confederate cavalry under Major-Gen- 
eral Fitzhugh Lee, who, having made the necessary disposition 
of his command, supported by two brigades of infantry, speedily 
attacked Buford's force and drove them back across Morton's 
Ford. In this charge, Colonel T. L. Rosser led his regiment 
(the Fifth Virginia), with marked gallantry, even though a 
bullet, striking him on the forehead, stunned him for a while. 
Here, too, the guns of Chew's battery played on Buford's 
retiring line with bloody effects. 

When the Federal cavalry had gone back on the Culpeper 
side, they made no hurried retreat at once, but met Fitzhugh 
Lee's attempt to follow then with a stubborn resistance. This 
was particularly the case when Wickham's brigade, which cross- 
ed the river at Raccoon Ford, pressed closely upon them. In 
a charge on the enemy's sharpshooters, who were well-protected 

128 



Second Cavalry Fight at Brandy Station 129 

behind a fence, Captain William B. Newton, who was in 
command of the Fourth Regiment at the time, was killed, and 
Captain Williams, of the same regiment, also fell. Captain 
Newton was the older brother of the late Bishop Newton, and it 
was pathetic to see the grief of the latter when the captain's 
death was told him. William B. Newton was one of the noblest 
offerings Hanover County laid on the altar in the army of Lee. 

Following the encounter in which these brave men fell, 
Buford's brigade fell back towards Brandy Station, pausing, 
as if for battle, very briefly only, near Stevensburg. Mean- 
while, as Fitzhugh Lee, with Wickham's brigade, under com- 
mand of Colonel Tom Owen, Lomax's brigade, and Cham- 
bliss's brigade, approached Brandy Station, following Buford's 
retreating column, General Stuart, with Young's, Jones's and 
Gordon's brigades, hardly pressing Kilpatrick's troops, was on 
the road to the same place from Culpeper Court House. 

It soon became evident that by a rapid movement Lee's regi- 
ments could reach the station in advance of Kilpatrick's and 
seriously obstruct their union with Buford. The country 
through which they would move in order to effect this was 
remarkably open, affording a view for a long distance down 
the road leading from Culpeper. Probably no more interest- 
ing or exciting scene in cavalry warfare occurred during the 
long struggle than was here presented, that of Stuart in pur- 
suit of Kilpatrick, and Fitz Lee dashing forward to cut him off. 
The Federal column rushing down the road at full speed, 
Hampton's division in hot pursuit, and Lee's twelve regiments 
throwing themselves across the path of the Federal retreat — 
all in fastest motion, horsemen at the gallop, artillery at the 
gallop, battle flags borne swiftly above the dust, all made a 
sight to be remembered. 

If the situation was animating and exciting to the men 
wearing the gray, it was not less so to those wearing the blue. 
General George A. Custer, leading one of Kilpatrick's brigades, 
wrote of the situation: "My advance had reached the vicinity 
of Brandy Station when a courier hastened back with the in- 
formation that a brigade of the enemy's cavalry was in a posi- 
tion directly in my front, thus cutting us off completely from 
the river. * * * Heavy masses of the rebel cavalry could 
be seen covering the heights in front of my advance, a heavy 



I30 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee^s Army 

column was enveloping each flank, and my advance confronted 
by more than double my own number. The perils of my situ- 
ation can be estimated." 

Colonel E. B. Sawyer, of the First Vermont Cavalry, stated: 
''The scene began to grow interesting. It was seen that we 
were not only flanked on both right and left, but right across 
the road we desired to travel we were confronted by a strong 
force — that we were surrounded. * * * We were now 
ordered to support a section of Captain Elder's battery. The 
scene had become wild and exciting. * * * Charges and 
countercharges were frequent in every direction, and as far as 
the eye could see over the vast rolling field were encounters by 
regiments, by battalions, by squads in hand-to-hand conflict. 
* * * General Custer, with the other regiments of the 
Second Brigade, had made a magnificent charge, but finding 
the rebel line formed beyond a ditch too wide for his horses to 
leap had, after the exchange of a few rounds been obliged to 
retire in considerable disorder. 

"In this engagement nearly the whole cavalry force of the 
armies of the Potomac and (Northern) Virginia confronted 
each other, and having a splendid field, exhibited the most mag- 
nificent display ever witnessed on this continent." 

General Stuart mentioned the combat which ensued on the 
arrival of Kilpatrick's column at Brandy Station, or Fleetwood, 
as of "the most obstinate and determined character." 

Two circumstances tended to abate the severity of the battle, 
and the fullness of the victory which the Confederates had so 
fair a prospect of winning. They were the fact that General 
Stuart on leaving the town of Culpeper, had not himself directly 
followed Kilpatrick down the road to Brandy Station, but, with 
Funston's brigade, had taken another route, intending to reach 
the Fleetwood Hills in advance of Kilpatrick. This column, 
as it approached those hills, was mistaken by General Fitzhugh 
Lee for Federal troops, and thus delayed his movement. The 
Fourth and Fifth North Carolina cavalry having been suddenly 
charged from a body of woods, broke and fled in spite of Gen- 
eral Young's and Stuart's efforts to rally them. 

This unfortunate affair gave the Federals time to get their 
artillery in position on the Fleetwood Heights, which having 
been accomplished, it was not feasible for Stuart to dislodge 



Second Cavalry Fight at Brandy Station 131 

him, particularly as his force was now well supported by in- 
fantry. 

Fitzhugh Lee's division was moved around towards St. 
James Church, threatening the rear of the Federals, whereupon 
they began to retire, brigade after brigade, beyond the Rappa- 
hannock at the bridge of that name. Of this retreat, Buford 
said: "The enemy pressed my left closely in retiring, but by 
eight P. M. the division was across the Rappahannock. Dur- 
ing the night we found our forage and went to sleep." 

In the operations of General Fitzhugh Lee's command on the 
morning of this day, I was in a position to see Colonel Rosser 
with his men in the line of breastworks, from which our in- 
fantry had retired, and to do so at the moment he was struck 
by a spent bullet. He began at once to retire, supposing his 
wound to be serious, but had gone but a few rods towards the 
rear when, having seen some slight wavering in his line, he 
turned around quickly and went forward again as if no ball had 
touched him. 

Some guns of Chew's battery had begun at this time to open 
on Buford's men and they began to retreat under their fire. 
From a small window in the attic of a house beside the road I 
could see the smoke flash in rapid succession from the rifle of a 
Federal sharpshooter. As we advanced, a halt occurred in front 
of this house, near the yard gate of which lay one of the enemy, 
who had been slain by a solid shot from one of Chew's guns. 
The deadly missile had gone through his breast, and the poor 
fellow's hand had been thrust up to the wrist in the gaping 
wound. 

I entered the house, examined the garret window, and saw 
on the floor beneath it twenty-eight empty metallic cartridges, 
which the sharpshooter had used when practicing on us with his 
Spencer rifle. 

During the advance from the Rapidan, our progress was 
disputed at several points, so that Chew had repeated opportuni- 
ties to bring his guns into action. One shell fired by him we 
noticed to explode in the enemy's ranks, and when we marched 
by the spot there lay two men dead, and another of noble form 
and physique, with both legs shattered, and dauntless and de- 
fiant, though dying. 

At an exciting stage of this battle, when the enemy had given 



132 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

away before one of our charges, and we were pursuing them 
with vigor, I chanced to be thrown in the chase very near the 
impetuous captain of Lee's Rangers (W. H. Haynes), who 
was emptying his revolver without effect on the man in blue 
whom he was chasing. Having discharged his last cartridge, 
he held his pistol aloft by the barrel and hurled it against the 
back of his flying foeman, only, however, to make him speed 
away the faster. 

The enemy's infantry, having re-crossed the Rappahannock, 
next morning occupied the ground of this battle, while we at 
same time were hastening over an upper ford to participate in 
the exciting engagements at Bristoe Station, Manassas, and 
Buckland. 

At Bristoe Station we witnessed the advance of several bri- 
gades of our infantry against the Federal troops well posted 
behind the embankments or rather the shallow side of the rail- 
road sink. The fire of these troops into our men advancing on 
them was what had not been anticipated, and our brigades 
recoiled before its severity. The movement of our infantry 
against Meade was here checked and they began to retire 
practically over the route of their advance. 

Our regiment having advanced as far as Manassas, went 
into a fight there with cavalry, and our gallant Captain Haynes 
was shot through the body, and permanently disqualified for 
further service. 

On the succeeding night, on the ground now occupied by the 
town of Manassas, while the larger part of the regiment were 
eating their supper, our pickets, under Lieutenant Davis were 
driven in upon us, and made us mount in hot haste. The lieu- 
tenant and two other men were killed, among them a former 
schoolmate of mine at Fleetwood Academy, named Hoskins. 

On the day following. General Stuart having retired before 
Kilpatrick towards Warrenton, directed Fitz Lee to get behind 
him on the Buckland Pike. This Lee succeeded in doing, and we 
had the pleasure of witnessing the famous ''Buckland Races," 
in which Kilpatrick's men escaped capture only by the speed of 
their flight. 

On the day succeeding, we were back on the ground near 
Brandy Station, and saw several of the unburied bodies of the 
men who had fallen in our battle there the week previous. 



CHAPTER XXI 

THE KILPATRICK DAHLGREN RAID: ITS PRELIMINARIES AND 

SEQUELS 

EARLY in February, 1864, General B. F. Butler, command- 
ing the Federal forces on James river, was in communication 
with Miss Van Lew, a Union sympathizer in Richmond, from 
whom he received information as to the number and location 
of troops guarding that city. Information thus obtained led 
him to conclude that a sudden dash might enable a body of cav- 
alry to surprise Battery No. 2, and get into Richmond with lit- 
tle prospect of being attacked for three hours. Accordingly on 
February 5th, he informed the Secretary of War at Washington : 
"I shall on Sunday make a dash with 6,000 men," and asked that 
Major General Sedgwick might make a co-operating movement 
with his corps to the east of Richmond. 

That same day, orders were issued through Brig. General I. 
J. Wistar to Col. S. P. Spear, commanding a cavalry brigade, 
to march via New Kent Court House and Bottom's Bridge to 
the Richmond defences, and having surprised, captured, or 
passed Battery No. 2, to "push forward." Instructions were 
given Col. Spear how to proceed, and what particular troops to 
employ in destroying the Navy Yard, in breaking ofi to the left 
to attend to Libby Prison and other public buildings, in crossing 
Mayo's bridge, seizing Belle Isle and liberating the prisoners, 
burning the bridges and Railroad Depots, in capturing Jeff 
Davis at his residence, burning the Tredegar Iron Works and 
numerous public buildings, factories and storehouses adjacent. 

On February 9th, Gen. Eppa Hunton, commanding his bri- 
gade in the vicinity of Bottom's Bridge, reported the advance of 
this body and their speedy retirement when opposition was met, 
saying: "I am at a loss to understand why the enemy has retired 
for the small repulse received." General Wistar, two days 
previously, had informed Butler of this retreat, saying: "Have 
just arrived after a fifteen mile gallop ivith my staff from Burnt 
Ordinary, where I left infantry and artillery strongly posted. 
* * * I regret your disappointment. It is no greater, I as- 

133 



134 ^ Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee*s Army 

sure you, than mine." 

Thus speedily and ingloriously en^ed this dash on Richmond 
by Wistar's negro regiments and Spear's cavalry — a result that 
was at once communicated by Butler to President Lincoln. That 
Mr. Lincoln had regarded this expedition with great interest 
and high expectation we may be sure, and only three days after 
its failure he summoned General Judson Kilpatrick to Washing- 
ton for consultation on the expediency of making another at- 
tempt from a different direction by well tried and picked troops. 
He found Kilpatrick in hearty sympathy with the enterprise and 
ready to lead it, although General Pleasanton, the commander 
of the Union Cavalry, said "that since Stoneman's raid of the 
previous year had brought a loss to the Government of over 7,- 
000 horses," this undertaking "is not feasible at this time," and 
"I cannot recommend it." Notwithstanding, the project was ap- 
proved in Washington and by General Meade and orders were 
issued for its attempt. 

In conformity with these orders, towards nightfall on Febru- 
ary 28th, Gen. Kilpatrick began his march from Stevensburg in 
Culpeper towards Ely's Ford, on the Rapidan with a force of 
3685 men, including a battery of six guns. In advance of his 
column, proceeded Colonel Ulric Dahlgren with over five hun- 
dred picked men. 

A few hours previous to the marching of Kilpatrick's troops, 
General Geo. A. Custer with 1500 cavalry had set out towards 
Madison Court House to make a demonstration against Char- 
lottesville. He was followed by the whole of Sedgwick's corps. 
This powerful diversion, by destroying the Central Railroad and 
the bridge over the Rivanna and threatening Charlottesville, it 
was hoped would weaken the defences at Richmond, and facili- 
tate a coup-de-main by Kilpatrick. Custer with his accustomed 
boldness and dash proceeded on his mission so quietly and rapidly 
that he came near surprising and capturing Stuart's Horse Artil- 
lery in camp in Albermarle under Captain M. N. Moorman. 
The guns — four batteries — were gotten off, but the camp, a 
good deal of the equipage and some of the personal effects of 
the men were captured. The railroad bridge over the Rivanna 
was saved, and General Stuart, moving in person against Custer 
with Wickham's brigade, turned him back on Sedgwick's corps 
in Madison. 



The Kilpatrick—-Dahlgren Raid 135 

Another diversion east of Richmond in concert with Custer's 
march towards Charlottesville was again made by Wistar's col- 
ored regiments and Spear's cavalry, along the line of their pre- 
vious futile demonstration. Of this second expedition its com- 
mander subsequently wrote: "No loss is reported save the slight 
wounding of one colored soldier by a bushwhacker," from which 
we may infer that it had proved of but little value to the move- 
ment which it was undertaken to assist. 

The order under which Kilpatrick advanced towards the 
Rapidan directed him to "move with the utmost expedition on 
the shortest route, past the enemy's right flank to Richmond, 
and by this rapid march to effect an entrance into that city, and 
liberate our prisoners." A number of circumstances gave en- 
couragement to this daring undertaking. The remoteness of 
Lee's army from his base of supplies favored it; the extremely 
scattered conditions of Stuart's cavalry regiments, made neces- 
sary by the scarcity of forage, encouraged it, while Kilpatrick's 
familiarity with the ground to be traversed and that of many 
of his men inspired their confidence. 

Whether because of the treacherous conduct of a citizen in 
conducting the advance guard of Dahlgren's force over the river 
so as to get behind the detachment of Captain Young's Company 
on picket at Ely's Ford, or because of the rapidity of their dash 
across the stream, the sixteen men were of the Confederate 
picket captured, and none escaped to give warning of the ad- 
vance. Never in the history of the war, perhaps, was the need 
of vigilance and protection against surprise by men on picket 
more signally illustrated than on this occasion, since the Federal 
cavalry, having crossed the Rapidan unheralded, moved directly 
in the darkness towards the Railroad over which General Lee 
was that night travelling from Richmond to his army in Spottsyl- 
vania, and with every passing minute increasing the peril of 
capture by an unlooked for foe. 

Captain Young, a brave and trusted member of Cobb's Legion 
was the officer in charge of this picket, and Lieutenants Merritt 
and Hogan of the Fifth New York cavalry led the party that 
made the capture. 

Dahlgren's march, so auspiciously begun, was continued 
towards Frederickhall, which it was deemed prudent to avoid 
by a detour because of the proximity of Confederate troops. 



136 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

After some slight damage was done to the railroad the column 
proceeded towards James River through Goochland County, 
which was reached twenty miles above Richmond. Here a de- 
tachment of the Second New York cavalry under Captain J. F. 
B. Mitchell was sent down the canal to destroy locks and dams, 
and to burn mills and storehouses. The day of that memorable 
raid, though the first of March did not indicate that the month 
had come in as a lamb, for the non-combatant people along the 
river could see the smoke of eight flour-mills, the barn of Hon. 
James A. Seddon and other private property sacrificed to the 
matches, turpentine, oakum, and other combustibles, which 
formed, by order of their superiors before leaving camp, a prom- 
inent feature of these soldiers' equipment for the raid. 

Dahlgren with four hundred men moved along the river-road 
without interruption, proposing to get over James river at a 
ford five miles from Richmond to which a negro named Robin- 
son whom he had encountered in the march through Goochland, 
promised to conduct him. Whether from fault of this guide as 
to the excellence of a ford or the swollen condition of the river, 
it was found impassable, and the daring exploit of attacking 
Richmond from the Manchester side, and freeing the prisoners 
on Belle Isle had to be abandoned. The young and impulsive 
Colonel of the expedition gave vent to his feelings by a singularly 
harsh procedure, and when Captain Mitchell and party followed 
on in his tracks a little afterwards, within three miles of Rich- 
mond, they met a gruesome sight. It was the body of the negro 
guide hanged at Dahlgren's order by the neck with a leather 
rein, and swinging from a tree that grew beside the road. 

Dahlgren having been joined by Mitchell proceeded north- 
ward and by close attention to the sound of the guns endeavored 
to locate and join Kilpatrick's column. 

The latter officer with over 3,000 men had, after crossing 
the Rapidan, passed through Spottsylvania Court House and 
thence to Beaver Dam Station where his supply of incendiary 
material was put into use. At this place, one of his command 
has reported that "twenty wooden buildings were at once set 
on fire, forming one sheet of flame, rising high above the sur- 
rounding woods; and the black forms of our men jumping 
around the fire. seemed from a distance like demons on some 
hellish sport." It is apprehended that a closer view would have 



The Kilpatrick — Dahlgren Raid 137 

but little changed their appearance. 

Leaving this station and passing near Ashland, Kilpatrick's 
column proceeded till halted by troops in the defence of Rich- 
mond, which they threatened on Brooke turnpike and the West- 
ham plank-road, where Col. Walter H. Stevens employed five 
hundred men and six cannon in their protection. The various 
attempts made by Kilpatrick's regiments to effect an entrance at 
this quarter proved discouraging by reason of the increasing 
fire which they met, and after dark they were moved farther 
east to Mechanicksville turnpike, anticipating less resistance 
there.' Scarcely had a charge led by Lieut. Col. Preston of the 
First Vermont and Major Taylor of the First Maine regiments 
met a repulse here before the dense darkness of the drizzly night 
led Kilpatrick to suspend operations, and give his men and 
horses rest. The command accordingly went into camp. Gen- 
eral Hampton had been endeavoring with the First and Second 
North Carolina Cavalry to come up with these daring raiders 
and was getting close to them at night fall. Having ascertained 
where Kilpatrick had encamped, he planned a night attack on a 
part of his force near Atlee's Station. This attack was under- 
taken by one hundred dismounted men led by Colonel Cheek, 
who had with him also two guns of Hart's battery. The sudden 
opening of these guns and dash of the dismounted men threw 
the Federals into confusion, if not consternation, and they beat 
a hasty retreat, leaving a wagon and caisson, numerous horses 
and prisoners in the hands of Hampton's men. 

A correspondent of a Northern paper who accompanied this 
expedition and furnished a graphic account of it, leaves one no 
room to doubt from his description of the effect of this night 
attack on Kilpatrick's camp that it was most disconcerting and 
demoralizing, and effectually disposed of any purpose on his 
part to renew the assault on Richmond the following morning. 
It resulted in a movement at once by the raiders towards Han- 
over Court House, which at every step put them farther and 
farther from the defences which they had intended to attack. 
It is not improbable that but for this night engagement there 
would have been secured a junction of Kilpatrick's command and 
Dahlgren's and a second day's endeavor to retrieve the failures 
of the first. 

About the time that Kilpatrick became satisfied of the futility 



138 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

of the attempt to force a passage through the defences in his 
front, and began to withdraw fo renew the attack on the 
Mechanicsville road, Dahlgren with his brave followers reached 
the Green farm on the river road, and was met by the Armory- 
Battalion, a part of the force under Brig. General G. W. C. 
Lee. Believing their troops were only "d — d melish" as was 
reported, Dahlgren boldly charged them, put them to rout and 
pursued them to the second line of defences. There, on the 
Hick's farm, the Third Battalion of the Armory Corps, consist- 
ing of Department clerks and youths of seventeen or eighteen 
years of age under Captain John A. McAnerney, were in posi- 
tion and ready with the coolness and precision of veteran sol- 
diers, to meet a second charge. They had but a short time to 
wait before Dahlgren's force with reckless impetuosity dashed 
forward to override and scatter them. They met a firm stand 
and two destructive voUies which emptied forty saddles by 
death, wounds, and captures. In the gathering night and driz- 
zling rain, encumbered with a number of wounded men and 
prisoners, the young Federal leader withdrew, intending to 
form a union with Kilpatrick, hoping to be guided to him by 
friendly rockets and the light of his camp-fires. 

In the endeavor to accomplish his purpose there happened to 
Dahlgren's column what is always a danger to cavalry march- 
ing in darkness on unfamiliar roads, — his troops became separat- 
ed, about one hundred and twenty-five of them following him 
on one road and the remainder, marching behind Captain 
Mitchell, on a different road. The dawn of March 20th found 
the raiders in three bodies, two of them separated by several 
miles, and pursued and harassed by Col. Bradley Johnson's 
command, making their way towards Tunstall Station where 
at length Kilpatrick's column was overtaken by Mitchell and 
the friendly relief sent forward by General Butler was met ; the 
third part of the command, composed by Dahlgren and his few 
followers, whose line of march amidst hostile camp-fires and 
marching regiments, cannot be told, was also proceeding by 
such ways as they could command towards the Pamunkey, 
which they crossed at Hanover Town, having despaired of 
rejoining their comrades on the south side of that stream. No 
sooner had they gone over and begun to traverse King Wil- 
liam County in the direction of the Mattapony than Captain 



The Kilpatrick — Dahlgren Raid 139 

James Pollard, commanding a company of the Ninth Virginia 
Cavalry, Captain E. C. Fox of the Fifth Virginia Cavalry, 
Captain Magruder with a small command and Captain R. H. 
Bagby of the King and Queen Home Guards, began in rapid 
succession to arrange a concerted plan of resistance, should they 
succeed in crossing the river into King and Queen. 

This crossing was effected by means of a flat-boat found at 
Aylett's and by swimming the horses. Soon after leaving the 
river when, near Bruington, their rear was attacked, and some 
delay caused, which enabled the several Confederate bodies to 
get into position ahead of them and await their coming. It was 
at night when the attempt was made to force a passage through 
this ambuscade, and in making it. Col. Dahlgren was killed, and 
later his men surrendered. The place of this occurrence became 
known as "Dahlgren's Corner," and is at the intersection of the 
Stevensville road with the river-road leading to the Court 
House. 

A lad belonging to a group of school-boys who had come with 
their teacher (Halbach) to assist in repelling this raiding-party 
took from Col. Dahlgren's pocket a note-book, which having 
been placed in Captain Pollard's hands was sent by courier to 
his immediate commander, Colonel Beale, and in consequence 
fell the following day under my eye. Imagine my surprise and 
horror to read in an order in that book this sentence: "We hope 
to release the prisoners from Belle Isle first and, having seen 
them fairly started, we will cross the James river into Rich- 
mond, destroying the bridges after us, and exhorting the releas- 
ed prisoners to destroy and burn the hateful city, and not allow 
the rebel leader Davis, and his traitorous crew to escape." 

It appeared from subsequent correspondence between Gen- 
erals Lee and Meade that the destruction of Richmond and kill- 
ing of President Davis and his cabinet were unauthorized by 
him, and all knowledge of them disclaimed by Dahlgren's im- 
mediate commander General Kilpatrick. 

After his fall, about twelve of the men accompanying Dahl- 
gren, abandoning their horses, made their escape in the direction 
of Gloucester Point, which they successfully reached. Along 
with them escaped Dahlgren's body-servant also, and the report 
given to Kilpatrick of the fight and loss of their leader in King 
and Queen was accompanied with the statement of how "his 



140 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee*s Army 

body had been seen on the roadside stripped of his clothing and 
horribly mutilated." 

After their arrival at Yorktown some days were necessary for 
the recruiting of Kilpatrick's command and the arrival of trans- 
ports to take them to Alexandria. During this interval he medi- 
tated on a plan whereby an expedition might be sent to King 
and Queen county "to punish," as he said, "those who had been 
engaged in the murder of Colonel Dahlgren and the capture of 
his men." In this scheme, he met with the heartiest support and 
encouragement of Major General Butler and Brig. Gen. I. J. 
Wistar and his dusky comrades. 

Accordingly, on March 9th, the above mentioned dusky bri- 
gade and an additional regiment (230) of negroes were placed 
on transports at Yorktown and sent under convoy of three gun- 
boats to Shepherd's Landing on the Mattapony, whilst, with a 
view to co-operation with them, the Pennsylvania Cavalry, the 
First New York mounted rifles, and four hundred of Kilpat- 
rick's command under Lt. Colonel A. W. Preston (who had led 
the recent attack on the Richmond defences) were despatched 
from Gloucester Point, to march by land and form a junction 
with the negro regiments at the point of their landing. This 
cavalry column was accompanied by six guns of Bulger's and 
Hunt's batteries. 

The negro infantry having been landed at Shepherds, 
marched to within six miles of King and Queen Court House 
and there halted, and Kilpatrick was sent forward with the cav- 
alry under orders of his ranking officer Wistar "to attack any 
enemy he might find, or hear of there * * * destroy the 
court house and public buildings and particularly the ferry at 
Fraziers." 

This order Kilpatrick, whilst manifestly, according to his own 
statements, in full sympathy with, seems to have been reluctant 
to obey. Having reached Little Plymouth, he seems to have 
been unwilling to proceed further. The fate of Dahlgren in 
that vicinity may have deterred him, and it does not appear that 
he wished the men of his own command to have part in execut- 
ing that order; but he sent Col. Onderdonk of the First New 
York Mounted Rifles to the camp of the Forty-third Virginia 
Battalion to disperse them while Captain Gerard Reynolds of 
the Eleventh Pennsylvania Cavalry (both of Wistar's com- 



The Kilpatrick — Dahlgren Raid 141 

mand) was sent to King and Queen county seat "to burn the 
court house, jail, mill and ferry," and these under the direction 
of this officer were burned, as ordered, on March 12th, 1864. 

General Kilpatrick's .report of this memorable and daring 
raid on Richmond, makes mention of the mills and other private 
property destroyed, but he seems to have been ashamed to ac- 
knowledge any part in the burning of this historic seat of justice, 
and so passes it in silence. 

When this demonstration occurred against King and Queen 
Court House, transports had assembled at Gloucester Point and 
Yorktown to take Kilpatrick's command back to the Army of 
the Potomac by way of Alexandria, and a considerable part of 
it was that day embarked. It had been previously recommended 
by those in authority in Washinngton that the command should 
march over to Urbanna on the Rappahannock, be transported 
across that river and march through the Northern Neck and 
thence to Culpeper county. This plan was, however, counter- 
manded by a subsequent order. Notwithstanding, a part of Kil- 
patrick's troops were taken over to Lancaster and Richmond 
counties and marched through the Northern Neck, as at first 
proposed. This movement was wholly concealed in Kilpatrick's 
report and those of his subordinates, as well as in the itineraries 
of the regiments engaged, so that it is not easy to determine 
which precise troops they were. No mention was made by their 
officers of this predatory passage through the Northern Neck, 
perhaps because of the looting of private houses, wholesale plun- 
dering and violence to women connected with it of which they 
felt ashamed. Nevertheless it proved a visitation of horror to 
the old men, women, arid children living there, and long re- 
mained to them a burning and harrowing memory. 



CHAPTER XXII 

CHARGING INFANTRY ALONG WITH A GEORGIA BRIGADE ON THE 
SPOTTSYLVANIA LINES 

A N official message from the Headquarters of the army under 
^^General Grant, dated May 13th, 1864, and addressed to the 
Secretary of War referring to the assault on the ''Bloody 
Angle" of the previous day said, "the number of cannon actually 
captured on yesterday now appears reduced to eighteen. The 
prisoners are 3,500." The despatch further said: "In changing 
his lines, Lee has left rnore uncovered the roads leading south- 
ward along his left wing, and Grant has ordered Meade to 
throw the corps of Wright to the left of Burnside, leaving Han- 
cock on our right. This maneuvre will be executed immediate- 

While Wright was complying with this order and movmg 
his troops down the northern side of the Ny river, Major Tom 
Waller reconnoitering with a squadron of the Ninth Virginia 
cavalry, discovered and reported the movement, and also the 
crossing of the river and occupancy of a hill on which a house 
stood on the southern side of that stream. 

Lieut. Robert J. Washington bore in person to General Lee 
the report of this threatening advance on his extreme right. He 
found the General at a very early hour asleep after the strain 
and stress of the "Bloody Angle" disaster, lying on a plank with 
one end raised on a rail. His coat had been laid aside, and no 
blanket covered his form, and his superb figure in the morning 
rays was exhibited in its sleeping posture to fine advantage. 
Washington brought back from the General orders which led to 
an immediate attempt to dislodge the Federal force, and drive 
them beyond the Ny. He brought also to his regiment the in- 
telligence of the death of General J. E. B. Stuart. No infor- 
mation could have been to the men who had long followed him 
more startling, astounding, or painful. He had seemed to them 
to lead a charmed life not to be cut short by any fatal bullet. 
They now looked at each other in mute wonder, and their faces 
bespoke the bitterness of disappointment and grief. It was the 

142 



Charging Infantry Along With a Georgia Brigade 143 

morning of May 14th, 1864, and they felt it to be the gloomiest 
one that had ever dawned on the cavalry corps of Lee's army. 

In marching through a body of timber that morning, two of 
our horse artillery guns were heard firing into the enemy near 
the Gayle house, and the shells of the enemy were bursting 
among the trees near us; but then these signals of battle were 
not affecting the men near me so much as the news that Stuart 
was dead. 

On the farther side of the woods, we saw two men of the 
regiment — Martin and Pemberton — who had been struck and 
killed by a bursting shell, laid across their horses and led to the 
rear. One of them — Pemberton — I recognized as a companion 
who had attended Fleetwood Academy with me, and felt how 
little there had been in its classic and peaceful shades to fore- 
tell the present ones so full of angry strife and prostrate forms. 

Our motion at this point was quickened, and passing in the 
rear of our guns, we proceeded at a gallop to a position on the 
right somewhat enfilading that of the enemy at the Gayle house, 
and were dismounted as if designed to be advanced in foot. 

While we were getting our line in readiness, the Georgia 
brigade commanded by Gen. Ambrose E. Wright emerged from 
the cover and began in magnificent order to move across the 
plain in attack on the troops occupying the yard and garden of 
the house. 

The opportunity of charging with infantry never had fallen 
to our lot before, nor had we been pitted against infantry; but 
there was no shrinking on the part of our men. They were 
filled with an ardor it was not easy to restrain. They were 
mourning for Job Stuart who was that day being borne to his 
burial, but his spirit seemed to hover near them and to beckon 
them on with his own intrepid and dauntless courage. * * * 
They found much in the Georgia brigade to inspire and im- 
bolden them. No nobler bearing on the battle field could have 
been exhibited than they displayed. Their alignment was per- 
fect, their steps regular and unwavering, and when cannon 
shots or bullets made gaps in their line, they were promptly 
filled up, and when a color-bearer was shot down, another man 
at once seized the flag. When the larger part of the level field 
had been crossed, the enemy seeing that the Georgians were 
not to be checked and that the dismounted cavalry were en- 



144 ^ Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee*s Army 

dangering their rear percipitately fled from the hill in a tu- 
multuous rush down the decline ind beyond the river Ny. If 
I should except the stampede on the left at Fredericksburg in 
December, 1862, when the men of Jackson's and Hill's corps 
drove Burnside's troops back to the Rappahannock, I never 
elsewhere beheld Federal artillery and infantry disappear with 
such celerity, down a decline towards a shattering river. 

The number of men who fell in the brigade making the 
attack seemed to us greater than those we found on reaching the 
house; it is probable, however, that many who fell here were 
taken off before we reached the ground. 

The house-dog remained at home during this engagement and 
when we reached the house, it lay dead in the yard, the victim 
of a Georgian's bullet. * * * One of the Federal sol- 
diers had taken a rocking-chair from the house, — perhaps a 
mother's or a sister's, and discharged his rifle while sitting in it ; 
he did not arise from it on our approach ; a fatal bullet having 
made the chair his bier. 

The body of timber into which we advanced in the morning 
and under cover of which our infantry later joined us and made 
the attack was occupied early in the day by skirmishers pushed 
forward from General Emory Upton's brigade, and he says in 
his report of the affair: "The Ninety-Fifth Pennsylvania and 
Tenth New Jersey were sent to support the Ninety-Sixth Penn- 
sylvania and Second New Jersey. They were barely in position 
when the enemy's column emerged from the woods. Simultane- 
ously, cavalry with a battery of horse artillery galloped on the 
field to the left of the house, which opened fire nearly enfilading 
our line. The enemy was received with a well directed fire, 
which checked his advance, but coming on in superior num- 
bers we were compelled to abandon the position. Our loss in 
killed, wounded, and missing was about 100. * * * After 
dark, the position was re-occupied by our troops." 

When this advance of Upton skirmishers was made Generals 
Meade and Wright followed them with the acting chief of the 
U. S. Corps of Engineers, whose report states: "The skirmish- 
ers were ordered forward to take possession of a belt of timber 
which might conceal any movement on the part of the enemy. 
Generals Meade and Wi;ight appeared about the time the men 
advanced. The skirmish line scarcely had entered the woods 



Charging Infantry Along With a Georgia Brigade 145 

when it was met by a large force of the enemy who were al- 
ready marching to attack. Generals Meade and Wright for- 
tunately escaped capture." Some of our men in advance doubt- 
less saw the escaping horsemen but were not at all aware they 
were officers of such dignity and prominence. 

Lt. Col. Weibeck of the Second New Jersey regiment, "a 
brave officer and thorough soldier," lost his life in this engage- 
ment. 

No official report appears to have reached General Lee of the 
transactions of the day on this part of his line, and no chronicle 
has survived of the heroic spirits who followed Ambrose Wright 
in this very gallant encounter, but even in this humble and 
indirect way, tribute is paid to his valor and that of his men. 
Many valiant men of the Empire State of the South have 
enriched and consecrated the soil of Virginia with their dust, 
but none more valiant than they who fell on this field on the 
margin of Ny river. 



CHAPTER XXIII 

WATCHING grant's ARMY ON FLANK MOVEMENT 

/^N May 20, 1864, from the position we occupied in the 
^^Confederate line of battle in the vicinity of Spottsylvania 
Court House the Ninth Virginia Cavalry was withdrawn and 
sent to the crossings of the little river which flows near Guiney's 
Station. After reaching that stream, the company to which I 
was attached was sent across it to watch the road running paral- 
lel with the railroad, as well as several other roads farther north 
in the direction of the Rappahannock River. It fell to my lot 
to command the company on this mission, and the orders given 
with such urgent and explicit instructions as to making imme- 
diate reports of any movements of the enemy made it quite cer- 
tain that our officers felt that Grant was preparing to move his 
army past Lee's left flank in the direction of Richmond. 

Lieutenant Washington, with a detail of twelve or fifteen 
men, was sent to picket the roads nearer the Rappahannock, and 
I posted several men, the most trustworthy I could get, to keep 
watch on the road that passes near the station. The orders to 
the man posted farthest up on this road were to fire his carbine 
on the enemy's approach and then to gallop to regimental head- 
quarters to report their advance. Another picket, posted a quar- 
ter of a mile nearer, was instructed to hold his ground until the 
enemy came near, and then to fire and hasten to report to me. 

I had taken the company to bivouac for the night to a barn 
located on the elevated ridge overlooking the valley, within a 
mile or so of the house in which "Stonewall" Jackson had died 
under the same ridge the year before, and the men, without un- 
saddling, had fallen asleep. Just after midnight the "bang" of 
the farthest picket was heard, and the men were at once aroused 
and called to mount. We were scarcely in our saddles and 
ready to march when the "bang" of the second picket was heard. 
This picket very soon met us and reported that a column of cav- 
alry was advancing. 

Knowing that a mill was not far ahead of us on the road of 
this advance, a trot was at once taken to get to it before the Fcd- 

146 



Watching Grant's Army on Flank Movement 147 

eral advance guards did, so that by removing the planks from the 
fore bay which crossed the road, we could secure a good position 
to check the enemy for a time. We reached the mill, dismount- 
ed, and were prying the planks up from the bridge, when we 
heard the rattling of sabers and were admonished of the enemy's 
near approach. We at once hastened to our ambuscade. The 
enemy halted as if they discovered some signs that we were lying 
in w^ait for them, but very quickly began to proceed cautiously. 
Just as they reached the bridge and were stopped by its damaged 
condition, we rose from our hiding place, and our carbines flashed 
out on the night's darkness. We then hastened back to our 
horses and fell back about a mile, when most of the men were 
dismounted and arranged along a hedgerow and fence. 

When the enemy advanced again, they put out flankers on 
either side, and we were unable to give them a volley at close 
range. We then retreated along the Bowling Green Road to 
where it turned and crossed the river on a bridge. Here we 
halted, and, having removed ten or twelve planks from near the 
center of the bridge, secreted ourselves in the bushes on the 
southern side. The streaks of dawn were now appearing, and 
we could see a long line of cavalry halted on the road over which 
we had just passed. A line of their sharpshooters was deployed 
in the fields on either hand and began to advance towards the 
bridge. We commenced to fire on them from our cover, but 
none appeared to be hit by our shots. We were thus engaged 
when we heard a volley above us and somewhat in our rear. 
There was then some lively running to get to our horses. We 
reached the horses and mounted, and found that a dismounted 
party of the enemy had waded the river above us, and were as 
near the road where it turned towards the hills as we were. We 
had to go at a gallop to get by, receiving a volley as we turned. 
At this turn in the road, or angle, rather. Corporal Carroll's 
horse fell dead, our only casualty. 

We retired to the hills south of the river, which offered admir- 
able posts of observation, and there watched Hancock's and 
Warren's corps as they moved down towards Bowling Green, 
till the gathering darkness stopped us. Just then a courier came, 
directing me to rejoin the regiment at the Mud Tavern. 
Towards this point we directed our march, and ere long, as we 
followed a road having timber on each hand, until we reached 



148 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

the open land. Around the tavern ahd a few hundred yards be- 
yond, numerous campfires gleamed brightly before us. I halted 
the company and asked two men, Lewis and Edwards, to trot 
ahead and ascertain if the fires were those of our regiment. 
They soon came back, saying "All right." 

We resumed the march, and the pleasant glow of the fires and 
the gladdening words, "all right," made us rejoice, rest broken, 
and hungry as we were. 

As we rode on and came within forty or fifty yards of the first 
fires, something about them, or the men, moving around them 
preparing supper, excited some doubt or misgiving in my mind, 
and I halted the company and asked Edwards if he had asked 
any one what command was camping there, and he said, "No" ; 
but he felt certain it was our brigade. I then told him to ride 
up near to one of the fires and ask what troops were there. He 
rode forward and I heard him ask, "What regiment is this?" 
and heard the answer; "Fourth New York Cavalry." We were 
in quarters far too close to be comfortable, and at once wheeled 
about and began to trot, not however, before the Federal camp 
began to get into a commotion. 

We proceeded but a short distance before coming to a private 
road leading through dense pine woods, and into this we turned. 
It led us into a field and beside a comfortable home of a farmer, 
but we made no pause to get supper or to learn who lived there. 
We soon were satisfied that we were not pursued, and then rode 
on leisurely in a southerly course until we came to the Potomac 
River and at a point where we could discover no ford. 

Here I left the men "to catch a nap" and permit their horses 
to nibble the meadow grass, while I rode with a sergeant to find 
a house and learn the location of the nearest ford. It was rather 
dark and the country entirely new and strange to us. We were 
ignorant of how close we were to the enemy's lines, or at what 
moment we might be stopped with the hostile command, "halt!" 
by an unseen picket. My companion at length discovered the 
faint glimmer of a light, and we rode in that direction. The 
light grew plainer as we approached it, but very soon wholly 
disappeared. Almost at once, we saw that we were close to a 
house, and surmised that the last of the family, being ready for 
bed, had blown out the lamp. 

I knocked at the back door, and soon, somewhat timidly and 



Watching Grant's Army on Flank Movement 149 

cautiously, a man called to me from the inside. He proved to 
be a soldier of Company E of my own regiment, to whom I 
told the nearness of the enemy and where I had left my com- 
pany. He quickly prepared to seek a place of greater safety for 
himself, as well as to help me, and said as we left the house: 
"Your company is down here in my meadow, only one hundred 
and fifty yards off." I knew I had ridden fully two miles in 
the darkness, and it seemed incredible that I was so close to the 
spot where I had left my comrades. But so it was, and after 
passing a barn nearby, there, beside the river within easy ear- 
shot, was my company. The ford was pointed out to us, and 
in a few minutes we had crossed the stream and were heading 
for the Telegraph Road. Before leaving the meadow, however, 
we heard a sharp report as of a picket's rifle break on the night's 
stillness, and the man of Company E, who had now become our 
guide, remarked that the report seemed to come from the direc- 
tion of the tavern. We afterwards learned that the shot killed 
a fine young fellow named John Waller, belonging to this same 
Company E, who, knowing nothing of the enemy's advance, had 
ridden unawares upon the picket. 

We reached the Telegraph Road, and were at a loss to know 
which direction to take, when two soldiers' forms moving side 
by side rode past us. One of the men with me proposed to get 
some information from them as to where W. H. F. Lee's Bri- 
gade could be found. He quickly returned, saying: "Why that 
was General Robert E. Lee!" The great commander, with an 
orderly, was riding silently through the deep shadows of the 
night, pondering probably those dispositions of his army which 
were destined to make the North Anna and second Cold Har- 
bor campaigns memorable in military history. 

From him we derived all necessary information as to the posi- 
tion of his son's brigade, and by daylight we had joined them 
and found our place in the regiment. The brigade was em- 
ployed in watching and retarding the advance of another of 
Grant's army corps, a part of it being dismounted and en- 
gaged with the enemy's skirmishers. As we moved behind 
Breathed's Battery along a road through timber, we reached an 
open space of an acre or two, when it was discovered that the 
Federal infantry had made rapid progress and had gone so near 
the road which it was intended we should pursue as to endanger 



I50 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

our battery's escape in that direction. 

Breathed's guns were unlimbered on the western side of this 
open space, and we were massed nearby to protect them, while 
the Tenth Regiment and perhaps several companies of our own, 
disputed the advance of the Federal skirmish line. The fire 
on this line became more and more rapid, and the shells from 
our battery flew faster and faster. I listened anxiously to 
the enemy's guns to be heard in our rear on the road over which 
we had passed, in which case, it being impossible to get the 
battery off through the woods, nothing could remain but to 
abandon it. I felt sure Breathed must be in very deep concern 
for the escape of his guns, but on looking at him he appeared 
sitting composedly on his horse with one leg across the boot of 
his saddle and reading an open volume with an intentness that 
the roar of his guns did not seem to disturb in the smallest 
degree. 

In a little while, one gun and then another was taken back 
over the road by which we had come, and then, by taking an 
obscure one found leading toward the west into a valley, made 
good their withdrawal from a most perilous situation. The 
cavalry, without any serious engagement with the infantry, fol- 
lowed the battery, and when we ascended the slope from the 
valley to the high land beyond, Breathed was unlimbering his 
rear gun near a body of woods. Looking to our left, three-quar- 
ters of a mile away, we could see a column of Federal infantry 
emerging from the timber from which we had escaped, and 
Breathed was bent on giving them a parting shot. His first 
shell struck the ground near the head of the column, and con- 
cealed the files where it struck for a moment with the dust and 
smoke of its explosion. The gap created was quickly closed up, 
and the column moved on. Other shots from our gun went 
wild, and a Federal battery having opened on us, we con- 
tinued our course under the cover of the woods. 

During our subsequent march after this incident we were 
not again under fire as we moved towards the Central Railroad, 
which we reached at dark. I picketed and fed my horse, when 
we halted for the night very close beside the road, and lay down 
myself within a few feet of the track. Next morning my horse 
and many others were found loose, with broken halters, at which 
I expressed astonishment. I was then laughingly informed that 



Watching Grant's Army on Flank Movement 151 

several trains had passed during the night loaded with infantry, 
who were cheering and yelling, at which the horses had taken 
fright. Though so near to the track, the noise of the wheels, 
the puffing of the locomotives, the yells of the soldiers, all 
combined, did not loosen the bonds of my unconscious slumber. 
Having been in the saddle for three continuous days, and with- 
out sleep for two consecutive nights, I had caught, in a measure, 
the spirit of Rip Van Winkle. 



D 



CHAPTER XXIV 

CAVALRY BATTLE AT ASHLAND 

URING the progress of Grant's campaign against Rich- 
mond in May and June, 1864, it became a matter of much 
importance to the Federal commanders to destroy the bridge of 
the Richmond and Fredericksburg and Virginia Central Rail- 
roads which crossed the Pamunkey River, and to tear up the 
tracks in the vicinity of Ashland. The destruction of the above- 
mentioned bridge was effectually accomplished at daybreak on 
the nth day of June, so Colonel J. B. Mcintosh, reported, by a 
regiment of Chapman's Brigade. He further states that with 
three regiments of his own brigade — the Fifth New York, Sec- 
ond Ohio, and First Connecticut — he pushed on to Ashland, and 
"there, while we were engaged in destroying the railroad, we 
were attacked by two divisions of the enemy's cavalry." For the 
protection of the men engaged in the destruction of the track, a 
body of dismounted men were placed in position in a body of 
woods through which ran a deep ditch with a considerable em- 
bankment, offering excellent protection against an attack. No 
sooner than the advance of this Federal body on Ashland was 
reported to General W. H. F. Lee than he was in motion with 
a part of his division to oppose it. 

When the Ninth Regiment of this division reached the vicinity 
of the woods occupied by the enemy, one of our regiments had 
been dismounted and were moving to attack them. We were 
also quickly dismounted, and entered the woods as a support to 
the men in advance. Beside a fence, at the edge of the timber, 
as we hurried forward, lay the body of a soldier who had re- 
ceived a death shot as our first line of skirmishers had approached 
the fence before us. 

As our men proceeded into the woods, a heavy fire was heard, 
and it was supposed the regiment in front of us was hotly en- 
gaged. Now and then amidst the flying bullets one or another 
of our men would be struck, but no volley was fired by us for 
fear of killing friends in the line which it was thought we were 
supporting. It presently became evident that not a Confederate 

152 



Cavalry Battle at Ashland 153 

was in our front, the regiment which we supposed to be there 
having borne to one side or the other and left only the Federals 
before us, well protected in the ditch which has been mentioned. 

When this discovery was made our regiment at once raised a 
yell and dashed forward for the ditch, while its occupants, leap- 
ing over the bank, beat a hasty retreat. A shot from one of 
them before turning his back to us struck the man at my side — 
R. B. Spilman and, the bullet striking his teeth and destroying 
several of them, passed out of his cheek. The contact of the 
ball with his teeth sounded to me very much as if it had struck 
and shattered a china plate or cup. The wounded man told me 
later that this noise was caused by the bullet striking the metal 
plate of his carbine, from which it glanced to his mouth. 

Close to this ditch, John Neale, another comrade near me, was 
mortally wounded, and I never saw him again. Here, too, fell 
a brave young fellow named Gaines, from Culpeper County. 
Farther to the left, fell Lieutenant John B. Harwood, of the 
Richmond County Cavalry, an uncle of the late Colonel John 
B. Harwood, of Richmond, for whom he was named. My last 
glimpse of him was as William Reamy bore his body on his 
shoulder back from where he fell. For this sad task, Reamy was 
so stout and stalwart as to need no assistance. 

When we reached the farther edge of the woods, an open field 
of no great size appeared before us, where the retreating enemy 
were seen mounting their horses amidst considerable confusion. 
An officer who sat prominently on his horse directing the dis- 
mounted men as they regained their saddles offered a tempting 
target to Tom Jett, who chanced to stand near me and called 
to me, saying, "See me knock that officer off," and then raising 
his carbine, taking aim, and firing. The officer fell back on his 
horse and then to the ground as if killed or badly wounded. Our 
fire here was rapid, and evidently with serious effects on the 
confused ranks of the enemy, who rapidly retired from our view. 

It began now to be reported that General Rosser, with his 
brigade, had gotten in their rear, and that there was a fine pros- 
pect of our making a large capture. We were, therefore, 
marched in the direction of our led horses, and when we got to 
them, lo instead of mounting them, we were hurried forward 
on foot in the woods on the right, while Lieutenant Christian 
led a squadron in a charge down the road, only to find the road 



154 ^ Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

barricaded and in possession of a fresh Federal brigade which 
had come to the rescue of the m^ whom we had been fighting. 
The timely arrival of this brigade enabled the enemy to escape 
with his ambulances filled with his seriously wounded, of whom, 
however, thirty remained in our hands, the Federals not having 
had adequate means to carry them away. This escape was largely 
accomplished also by the opening up of a road through some 
dense woods and over a way that had been deemed by us impas- 
sable. 

A few days later, the Federal lines before the Confederate 
intrenchments at Cold Harbor became very close, and the scouts 
of Lee's army were unable to enter to secure information which 
he deemed it necessary to obtain. Accordingly on June lOth he 
directed General W. H. F. Lee to send a reconnoitering force 
sufficient to break through the Federal picket line and to make 
the needful observation. The Ninth Virginia Cavalry was chos- 
en for this reconnoisance, and was led by its colonel, and General 
Chambliss, who accompanied it in person. 

The direction in this enterprise led us towards the Cold Har- 
bor and Old Church Road, near which the movement of the 
regiment was concealed by woods. In a road that ran through 
these woods, our men, in advance, met the enemy's picket, and 
made a dash for its capture, and the squadron to which I was 
attached followed at a gallop. When we reached the Old 
Church Road, strands of barbed wire, the first we had seen in 
military use were encountered, which ran into the woods with 
only a narrow space left between two small pine trees sufficient 
to admit one horse at a time. Here several of the enemy were 
captured, and none was left to give warning of our approach. 
Our course was taken from this point at a gallop towards Old 
Church, and two or three Federal cavalrymen whose horses had 
been left at the gates of houses by the roadside were seen rushing 
from the houses to the woods in the rear. 

Half a mile or so beyond, we came upon the reserve picket, 
most of whom had discovered our approach, mounted their 
horses and fled, but several had not yet mounted, and a few 
seemed to halt for battle. One of these was killed and the 
others captured. 

An animating chase now ensued, and the captain commanding 
the Federal squadron, Joseph Backus, by name, was endeavor- 



Cavalry Battle at Ashland 155 

ing to rally his men and make a stand when we came upon him, 
and he fell dead in the road. Farther on, Lieutenant Lai. 
Washington, having reached the enemy's ranks, raised his right 
arm, not less powerful than that of the English King styled 
''Coeur de Leon," and smote one of them with his sharp saber 
a ghastly and fatal blow, splitting his skull in twain. 

At Old Church our impetuous chase was abruptly halted 
when we came into view of a line of entrenchments well man- 
ned with infantry and artillery. This halt was not true, how- 
ever, of Jim Sullivan, of the Lancaster troop, who having been 
shot through his wrist, was unable to check his spirited steed, 
and so dashed on and into the breastworks and was made a 
prisoner. The Federal infantry encountered here were of a 
dusky and sable hue, and belonged to General Ferrero's negro 
division, and our contact with them at this point offered the 
only slight opportunity we ever had of exchanging a shot with 
them. 

Though fully anticipating a vigorous pursuit by the Federal 
cavalry, and arranging to meet it, our return was without seri- 
ous interruption. On reaching the spot where the Connecticut 
captain had fallen, I glanced at his nearly nude body with a 
sense of shame for that small part of our men whose aim in 
battle seemed to be rather for the pockets of the enemy's dead 
than the armed persons of the living, and whose bravery was 
less noticeable than their brutality. 

After this, we established our bivouac in the rear of, and near, 
the Cold Harbor breastworks. Very soon it became apparent 
that Grant, weary of his unsuccessful and bloody assaults here, 
was retiring, and that Lee was also withdrawing to oppose him 
south of the James River. Our regiment followed the line of 
the retreating Federals, and in doing so passed through the works 
which General Lee's men had held. It was enough to make one 
s^hudder to see on this line how the bodies of the cedar trees had 
been scarred and chipped, and the branches cut and splintered, 
and the foliage piled on the earth with the twigs from the terri- 
fic artillery and musketry fire to which the brave men under Lee 
had been exposed. 

On reaching the opposing works where the Federals had 
fought, these evidences of the terrific discharge of shot and sheP 
and bullets which they had faced were no less marked. 



156 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee^s Army 

Between the two lines of works where thousands had fallen, 
there appeared as we traversed the ground what seemed to have 
been an intervening line of earthworks that had been dug down 
and levelled. In crossing this newly-turned earth, our horses 
hesitated and showed much unwillingness to proceed, as if dis- 
trustful of the ground beneath them. When we urged them 
forward, the sinking of the feet and the breaking of bones 
beneath them revealed the horrible truth that we were march^ 
ing over a long sepulchre of dead soldiers, a fact of which we 
had no previous suspicion. In the gospel it is recorded : "For 
ye are as graves which appear not, and the men who walk over 
them are not aware of them," but this truly could not be said 
of our horses in their walk over the graves of the dead at Cold 
Harbor. 



I 



CHAPTER XXV 

CAVALRY OPERATIONS IN HANOVER COUNTY 

N the closing days of May, 1864, the army under General 

Grant crossed the North Anna and Pamunkey Rivers and set 
out across Hanover County towards the Chickahominy and the 
Richmond defenses. General Lee's army was at the same time 
moving to get into position at New Cold Harbor to resist this 
movement. On the 27th of the month, our regiment, the Ninth 
Virginia Cavalry, was moved so as to get in the rear of Warren's 
Corps as it advanced from the Pamunkey to annoy them and 
gather up the stragglers. 

It was distressing and harrowing to the last degree to witness 
as w^e fpllowed the line of march of this corps the smoking ruins 
of houses, the spoliation and outrages committed on the innocent 
women and children, whose homes had been looted, their scanty 
provisions carried off, and they left to weep and starve. 

A part of my company formed our advance guard in this 
movement, who marched two hundred yards or more in front of 
us, and among them were my two younger brothers. At a cer- 
tain point on the road where another from the left intersected it, 
quite suddenly late in the afternoon a small body of Union cav- 
alry, escorting an ambulance, made an appearance ahead of us. 
It was seen by us that this was but a small party, and a few of 
our men dashing forward captured them without a shot being 
fired on either side. 

Our advanced guard, having passed the intersecting road 
without observing this party, were moving on quietly when some 
of them, looking back, saw the road behind them filled with 
mounted men in blue, and, feeling sure that a regiment or bri- 
gade had cut them off and were ready to give them chase, at once 
put spurs to their horses and plunged into the woods, and we 
saw them no more until the darkness had well set in and we had 
gone into camp and kindled fires. 

It was deemed needful now to our commanding officers for 
the secure movement of a part of our army to stay the progress 
of several of General Grant's corps who were threatening the 

157 



158 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

Confederate line of march ; and nearly all of our cavalry took 
position near Hawe's Shop to retard the Federal advance. Both 
Fitz Lee's and Hampton's divisions were dismounted in the 
woods where they threw up such meager breastworks as they 
could. The Federal cavalry, consisting of General Greggs's di- 
vision and Custer's brigade, soon assailed this line, and there 
ensued for seven hours a fiercely contested engagement, with 
heavy losses on each side. 

We did not reach the ground of this battle until the afternoon, 
and were then halted in the road as though we might be needed 
in a mounted charge. While we halted, I rode to a tree by the 
roadside where the body of a young Georgia major had been laid. 
His head rested at the roots of the tree, and his upturned face 
showed that a bullet had penetrated his forehead just above the 
line of his eyes. He was rather small of stature, but his face was 
intellectual and his brow noble, and it seemed a pity indeed that 
the death-dealing missile had found so splendid a mark. 

We soon moved forward and then were halted, and ordered 
to dismount, form a line of battle, and march across a field. A 
line of skirmishers was deployed in front of us and a lively fire 
was opened on the enemy's lines. Private B. B. Atwill, of my 
company, was seen to leave the skirmish line wounded in the side 
by a minnie ball, and we learned that the force advancing on us 
were infantry. Very soon we were ordered to halt, and slowly 
fall back. This we were glad to do, and having gained our 
saddles, we withdrew without being pressed. 

In marching away from this field, our course led us near some 
open and swampy ground from which the enemy discharged 
their guns on us quite furiously. The twilight had set in, and 
the flashes of the musketry would have been beautiful but for 
the whizzing of the bullets. One of them cut the hatband of 
Lieutenant William McGauley, in the file ahead of us, but hap- 
pily did his head no harm. One man near me exclaimed as the 
guns flashed out on the darkness, "Lor's, they beat the lightning 
bugs." 

It was in this day's engagement that Custer's Michigan bri- 
gade came into action, and with their customar}^ resolution and 
dash, greatly assisted the Federal cavalry in maintaining their 
ground and winning the day. In one of the regiments of this 
brigade was Private John A. Huff (Company E, Fifth Michi- 



Cavalry Operations in Hanover County 159 

gan), who, just seventeen days before at Yellow Tavern, had 
fired the shot which mortally wounded General J. E. B. Stuart, 
the idol of the Southern cavalry. He was in the action of this 
afternoon and received a bullet wound from which he died. 

On the day following this battle at the intersection of the 
road on which we marched with one leading to Richmond, and 
where some fighting had occurred, a large mound of fresh earth 
appeared, with a tall fence of rails inclosing it, and at the head 
of the mound a board set up on which was written the name of a 
colonel's horse that had been shot and here buried. The men of 
the regiment thus had paid tribute to the familiar steed which 
they had been wont to follow on the march and in battle. This 
regiment, with many others, was now forcing its way to the 
bloody field of New Cold Harbor, and the inquiry readily sug- 
gested itself within me, how many of these brave men are 
destined to fail of such considerate and honorable sepulture, but 
will rest in nameless graves. 

That evening as our march was pursued, we came in sight of 
the home of Colonel Shelton, where two years before, when ill, I 
had received generous shelter at his hands, and the most gentle 
and kindly nursing by his wife and daughters. Apprehending 
that the house would fall between the contending lines of the 
two armies, I went with our colonel's hearty consent with the 
regimental ambulance to take the family to a place of safety 
within our lines. I found the household in consternation and 
grief. The suspense and tears of the mother and daughters were 
piteous to behold, and wrung my heart. Misses Fannie and Em- 
ma and Mrs. Shelton were unwilling to leave their home but 
urged that Colonel Shelton should go. Preparations were 
promptly made for his departure, and having kissed his wife and 
daughters a sad good-bye, he entered the ambulance and was 
driven off. I followed the ambulance, leaving these dear women 
and their servant girl to a defenseless home and a gathering night 
of horrors. 

We were not out of sight before the advance guard of Han- 
cock's Corps reached the place and began to throw up rifle pits 
in the yard and garden which were occupied by Brooke's Bri- 
gade, the batteries of which opened fire on ours stationed beyond 
Swift Run. Of an incident which occurred at this time adding 
to the distress of Mrs. Shelton and her daughters, I borrow 



i6o A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

General Hancock's account : 

"A most singular incident occurred here to-day. We had sev- 
eral guns in position behind a rifle pit which ran through the 
yard of the Shelton house. These guns were firing rapidly at 
some batteries of the enemy placed on the other side of Swift 
Run. In the Shelton house were several ladies who had refused 
to leave, notwithstanding the danger; they had taken refuge in 
the cellar and had with them a negress who when the fire was 
hottest became delirious from fright, and, picking up a shoveful 
of live coals from the hearth rushed out into the yard and threw 
the coals into one of the gun limbers, exploding the ammunition 
it contained, killing two men, I believe, and burning the eyes out 
of one or two others. The negress, who was unhurt, ran into 
the house as if the devil was after her, and nearly scared to death 
by what she had done. Colonel Brooke, Fifty-Third Pennsyl- 
vania Volunteers, witnessed this affair with many other officers. 
I myself arrived on the ground just as the men whose eyes had 
been burned out were taken off the field. It was not supposed 
that the negress had any intention of doing such mischief. She 
was so crazy that none believed she knew what she had done." 



CHAPTER XXVI 

BATTLE OF NANCe's SHOP JUNE 24, 1 864 

TJ EPORTS of the Battle of Nance's Shop, or Samaria 
-•^ Church, on June 24, 1864, are sadly lacking on the Confed- 
erate side. This engagement should be distinguished from an- 
other bloody cavalry combat bearing the name of Hawe's shop 
and fought on May 28th of the above year. 

The field of the battle of June 24th is in Charles City County, 
about two and one-half miles from the Chickahominy River, and 
on, or near, an imaginary line drawn from the White House on 
the Pamunkey to Harrison's Landing on James River. It is 
twenty miles or more from Richmond. 

General Sheridan having retreated from the Trevilian battle 
of June 1 2th in Louisa, checked by Hampton in his endeavor to 
reach Gordonsville and Charlottesville, and from a junction with 
General Hunter in his raid on Lynchburg had conducted his 
corps down on the north side of the North Anna towards the 
White House, which place he reached on June 21st- 

His arrival was opportune enough, since many supplies for 
the army were there ready to be shipped in w^agons across the 
Peninsula to James River, while at the same time, Chambliss's 
Brigade of cavalry was near by, ready to attack the train should 
it move. Among these supplies were 795,000 pounds of grain 
and 371,000 pounds of hay, besides the cargo of an unloaded ves- 
sel, so Rufus Ingalls, the chief quartermaster, reported. 

Two divisions of the Federal cavalry having advanced 
against Chambliss's Brigade on the 22nd, they fell back to the 
vicinity of Nance's Shop, where they were joined by Hampton's 
men returning from the Trevilian raid. 

Under the escort of three divisions of cavalry, the long wagon 
train was moved out across the Chickahominy on its way across 
Charles City County to James River. The number of wagons 
was over nine hundred. 

To assist in protecting the train, the division of cavalry com- 
manded by Brigadier-General D. M. Gregg was sent in the di- 
rection of Samaria Church to resist any approach of the Con- 

161 



1 62 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

federates from that quarter. Thftse regiments, numbering elev- 
en, with three batteries, were placed in a strong position, which 
they at once proceeded to fortify with breastworks of logs, rails, 
and felled trees. 

General Hampton had now arrived in person and, anticipating 
the Federal movement towards James River, placed his troops 
so as to cover the roads leading in that direction. No sooner 
was he advised of Gregg's arrival at St. Samaria's Church than 
he determined to attack him, and made his disposition accord- 
ingly. 

General Lomax was left with his brigade to guard the road 
next to the river, and Wickham's Brigade was advanced so as to 
be ready to join in the attack. General Gary, with two regi- 
ments, was sent around so as to threaten the enemy on the flank. 
Chambliss's Brigade was assigned a position so as to take part in 
the attack in front, or if needed, to co-operate in the flank move- 
ment of Gary. Major-General Fitz Lee commanded the line in 
front. While these plans of battle were in what seemed a slow 
process of execution, the morning hours wore away, and the 
June sun flared down with sweltering heat on the exposed men. 

It was perhaps two o'clock before the line of dismounted men, 
awaiting the sound of Gary's guns, received the order to move 
forward. Only the videttes and men in the skirmish line had as 
yet seen a blue coat, owing to the woods of pine that restricted 
the view. Scarcely had the Confederate line began to advance 
before the fire of the skirmishers in the woods before them be- 
came more and more rapid. Presently, the main body had 
reached the skirmish line, and only sixty or seventy paces in 
front of them stretched away on either side the formidable line 
of breastworks, which were partly concealed and partly revealed 
by the smoke and fire of carbines. 

A rapid and concerted rush was made for these works by the 
Confederates, many of whom fell within a few feet of them, and 
some on them, so bravely and resolutely were the men under 
Gregg determined to hold their ground. When at a few points 
men in the attacking line began to leap over the piled logs, and 
the Federals were forced to beat a hasty retreat, receiving volleys 
as they ran. Their forms were almost immediately hidden in the 
dense pine thicket that rose conveniently near. 

Having gained the works, the Southern line made no delay, 



Battle of Nance s Shop June 24, 1864 163 

but pursued the fleeing enemy. Beyond the thicket, the trees 
were larger and woods more open, permitting the view of the 
enemy's line to the left, just beginning to retreat, and having to 
pass along the front of one or more Confederate regiments in 
order to escape. These unfortunate Federals maintained good 
order in their double-quick movement, despite the fact that num- 
bers of them fell in the road as they ran. 

One of them, pursuing a path beside the road, fell specially 
under the eye of the present writer, who, seeing him fall, sup- 
posed at the moment he had stumbled and fallen. On reaching 
the body, however, it was found to be shot through with a bul- 
let. From it, a fine pistol was taken and a few letters, which 
proved to be tender missives from his New England lady love. 

The men who were posted behind the breastworks being now 
in general retreat, the Southern line was pushed forward in 
eager pursuit. It had not advanced far, however, before an open 
field was reached, at the farther side of which, behind a barri- 
cade and trees, a second Federal line appeared, and this met the 
Confederates with such a furious fusilade as made it necessary to 
pause and reform their line. Here the Confederate fire became 
so rapid that their ammunition was soon exhausted. Some of 
Hampton's regiments were advancing under more favorable con- 
ditions, having the shelter of woods. Their advance soon caused 
the men under Gregg to withdraw from their barricade and re- 
mount in order to escape. 

When Hampton's line advanced into the woods thus vacated 
they could see from its farther edge not a little hurrying and 
confusion in the Federal ranks. Ambulances were in motion, 
and litters carried by four men each were noticeable bearing 
away the dead and wounded. A few sharpshooters were still in 
line, giving occasional shots, and shells continued to be thrown 
to check pursuit, but the order to retreat had been given, and the 
move had begun. Never, perhaps, had the Confederate cavalry 
a more inviting or promising occasion for a bold and rapid dash. 

After this several movements on foot had been made, how- 
ever, a considerable distance intervened between most of the 
men and their led horses, and such was the overpowering heat 
of the day and the unappeased thirst of the men that many were 
placed hors de combat. The only troops in readiness for the 
pursuit were the Phillips' and Jeff Davis Legions, Robin's Bat- 



164 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

talion, and the Twelfth Virginia Cavalry. These gave chase to 
the retreating columns, which they followed to within two and 
one-half miles of Charles City Courthouse, and halted some time 
after darkness had obscured the road. Colonel Thomas B. Mas- 
sie, of the Twelfth Regiment, was wounded in this pursuit. One 
hundred and seventy-nine prisoners were taken in the engage- 
ment by the Confederates, including one colonel and twelve oth- 
er commissioned officers. The aggregate of casualties on the 
Federal side was three hundred and thirty-nine, and on the Con- 
federate probably not less, though the reports of these have not 
been preserved. 

General Gregg, in reporting this engagement, says: "The 
force of the enemy was largely superior to ours," and that his re- 
treat was "without confusion or disorder." General Sheridan in 
his report, with greater candor, states that General Gregg, 
"after a subborn fight, which lasted until after dark, was forced 
to retire in some confusion." 

This hard-fought engagement and pursuit of the Federals 
created no little uneasiness within their lines. Early that night 
General Grant telegraphed General Butler: "Sheridan has been 
attacked this evening, and with great difficulty and heavy loss of 
men has saved his train so far. He expects another attack at 
daylight, and would be much assisted if some infantry could 
reach him in time." 

Butler, in reply, asked: "Will General Grant please tell me 
exactly where Sheridan is?" And the answer came back: 
"Charles City Court House is place where our troops are, and 
the enemy is confronting them." General Butler immediately 
on getting this reply, directed General Brooks as follows: 
"March at once two regiments which will number I, OCX) men to 
the hospital wharf in the utmost haste. . . . Take the near- 
est men." About two hours later, General Brooks responded: 
"Orders gone out. It will take three regiments"; and at 5.15 
A. M., June 25th, he wired : "Three regiments have started for 
Point of Rocks." Soon afterwards, that same day, Butler's as- 
sistant adjutant-general wired General Brooks: "Sheridan is 
safe behind the intrenchments at Douthat's Landing." 

Both General Hampton and one of the Federal commanders 
bore witness to the efficiency of General Gary's regiments with 
their Enfield rifles, on this field. Of Chambliss and his men, 



Battle of Nance's Shop June 24, 1864 165 

Hampton wrote: "Brigadier-General Chambliss with his brigade 
rendered most efficient service, contributing largely to the suc- 
cess at Samaria Church." 

It deserves to be noted that in the reports of this battle con- 
tained in the compilation of official Records by the Government, 
the church near which the fighting occurred is called *'St. 
Mary's" erroneously by the Federal officers, and in the Confed- 
erate reports the editors have substituted this name for the prop- 
er one — Samaria. 



CHAPTER XXVII 

BATTLE AT WHITE's TAVERN IN CHARLES CITY COUNTY 

'T^HE James River, not far below Curl's Neck, makes a bend 
-*■ towards the north, encircling in part Jones's Neck, at the 
upper end of which is Deep Bottom, in Charles City County, 
which, however quiet and peaceful ordinarily, was on August 13, 
1864, the scene of no little stir and commotion. The engineer 
brigade of Grant's army was active there preparing a bridge with 
thirty-six pontoon boats. At the same time, transports were ap- 
proaching heavily laden with troops of Hancock's famous corps. 
The disembarkment took place early on the following morning, 
when it was proposed they should effect a junction with other 
troops already operating on the north side of the river. 

The object contemplated by this junction of forces at Deep 
Bottom was to make a sudden and formidable assault on the de- 
fences of Richmond. In concert with this movement, and the 
more certainly to insure its success by a powerful diversion, Gen- 
eral Warren had begun a march with his corps to destroy, or 
hold, the railroad below Petersburg. 

From the vicinity of Deep Bottom, three roads lead towards 
Richmond, the one nearest the river known as the New Market 
Road, the middle one as the Darbytown Road, and the other 
as the Charles City Road. Over these several roads it was Han- 
cock's plan to advance, and his orders were issued to his several 
commands to set out on the march at five A. M. on August i6th. 
As the infantry proceeded on the two roads nearest the river, 
they encountered General C. W. Field's division, and were re- 
puked with heavy loss. 

In the movement along the Charles City Road, a part of Bir- 
ney's Infantry Division and the veteran cavalry division com- 
manded by Brigadier-General D. McD. Gregg, were opposed 
by General W. H. F. Lee's division and Gary's brigade. 

General Lee was advised of the Federal advance — had, indeed, 
been hastened from below Petersburg to resist it — and now, not 
far from White's Tavern, dismounted a large part of his com- 
mand, which was placed in line, much of it at least, in a verita- 

166 



Battle at White's Tavern in Charles City County 167 

ble jungle of small bushes and underbrush, and on either side 
of the road. 

Brigadier-General J. R. Chambliss (whose father of the same 
name was a member of the Confederate Congress at the time, or 
previously), commanding the Ninth, Tenth and Thirteenth Vir- 
ginia Cavalry, was preparing to resist with his customary firm- 
ness the enemy's advance near the road, and was making the 
necessary dispositions when, in riding from one side of his line 
to the other, and while crossing the road, was shot by a volley 
from dismounted cavalrymen of the Sixteenth Pennsylvania Reg- 
iment, who rose suddenly from the cover of the brush, and he 
fell dead from his saddle and into the enemy's hands. At eight 
A. M. General Gregg sent a message to Hancock saying: "We 
are getting along and driving the enemy * * * j have the 
body of General Chambliss, killed a few minutes ago." Two 
hours later, he replied : "The enemy are making a spirited ad- 
vance, but are held by one of my brigades dismounted." In the 
subsequent desultory firing that occurred. Captain Oliver, of the 
Ninth Regiment, was instantly killed by a bullet in the head. 
General Robert E. Lee, in reporting the engagement, said of 
Chambliss: "The loss sustained by the cavalry in the fall of Gen- 
eral Chambliss will be felt throughout the army, in which, by 
his courage, energy and skill, he has won for himself an honor- 
able name." 

General Chambliss, who had on his person when he fell a 
pocket testament and map of Richmond and its environs, well 
deserved the high commendation bestowed upon him by General 
Lee. No braver or more intrepid officer yielded up his life in 
defence of Richmond in the days of her peril. He was trained 
at West Point and possessed the spirit and bearing of a true 
soldier. He was small of stature, but finely proportioned, lithe, 
active and graceful. His face was handsome, his eyes were 
piercing and beamed with intelligence, and his thick and evenly 
clipped beard added to his manly appearance. Having distin- 
guished himself at the head of an infantry regiment (Forty-first 
Virginia), in the battle of Seven Pines, he later was appointed 
to the colonelcy of the Thirteenth Virginia Cavalry, and began 
at once to develop and make marked the fighting qualities of that 
regiment. 

When W. H. F. Lee was made a major-general and the place 



i68 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

of the commander of his brigade made vacant, though there were 
in it officers holding the same rank with Colonel Chambliss and 
older commissions, and who had seen far more cavalry service, he 
was elevated over them as brigade commander, and so was per- 
mitted to place a wreath around the three stars of his collar 
which his bravery had already wreathed with honor. He rose 
steadily in the confidence and admiration of the brigade till the 
hour of his melancholy fall. 

Of the circumstances of his death and recovery of his body, I 
am permitted to record the recollections of my friend and com- 
rade, Hon. Theo. S. Garnett, at present commander of the De- 
partment of the Army of Northern Virginia Confederate Vet- 
erans, who at the time of these events, was serving on the staff 
of General W. H. F. Lee, and was an observer of what he de? 
scribes. He says in reply to my inquiry: 

*'On the second Sunday in August, 1864, I think, the division 
of General W. H. F. Lee, on whose staff I was then serving, 
marched from a point below Petersburgh to the north side of 
James River, camping that night over on the Charles City Road. 
One regiment of Chambliss's Brigade was on picket that night at 
the W^hite Oak Swamp, and early next morning was attacked 
by Gregg's Division of Cavalry and driven back. The rest of 
the brigade was hurried to its support, together with a part of 
Barringer's North Carolina Brigade, and the fight was joined. 
In a few minutes after reaching our line, I was informed that 
General Chambliss had been shot from his saddle, and his horse 
was at that moment being led to the rear. I was told by some 
one on the spot that General Chambliss had been directing the 
fight as his men fell back from the swamp, riding back and forth 
across the main road, the enemy pushing forward on one side 
and then on the other. The general, after visiting his line on 
one side of the road, which there ran through a thick body of 
woods and undergrowth, was returning to the other side expect- 
ing to find his line in the same position it had occupied only a 
few minutes before, but was surprised to find himself in the im- 
mediate presence of a line of the enemy, some of whom demanded 
his surrender. I have heard that Chambliss frequently had said 
that he never would, under any circumstances, be taken prison- 
er. Acting on this determination, he was in the act of wheeling 
his horse to ride away when the enemy shot him down. From 



Battle at Whitens Tavern in Charles City County 169 

the examination which I made of his body two days later when 
it was delivered to me on flag of truce, I am sure that quite a 
volley must have been fired at him, as there were several wounds 
through the breast. 

"The enemy gained no further ground, but were driven back 
across White Oak Swamp, taking with them General Cham- 
bliss's body. 

"A few minutes after the general was killed, I was ordered 
by General W. H. F. Lee to take two men and go on a scout 
over to White Oak Road and ascertain whether the enemy were 
attempting to flank us. I selected the two men from my old 
company (Ninth Virginia Cavalry), one of them being my old 
schoolmate, T. Monroe Jones, and made the trip, fortunately 
ascertaining and reporting that no enemy was making such a 
movement. 

*'Two days after this fight I was sent across the White Oak 
Swamp, on the Charles City Road, to recover General Cham- 
bliss's body by flag of truce. The flag was carried by one Mc- 
Clanahan, from the Lancaster troop, I think, one of General 
Lee's efficient couriers. Just across the swamp lay Gregg's Divi- 
sion, and I rode up until they warned me to stop. They proved 
to be the Tenth New York Cavalry, one of whose horses I was 
then and there riding, having captured him in the previous fight. 
And I am pleased to say that they recognized him. 

"One of General Gregg's staff met me and received General 
Lee's note, and brought back an answer from General Gregg, 
stating that the body of General Chambliss had been buried, but 
would be promptly exhumed and be delivered at a point on the 
infantry lines near Fuzzel's Mill, on the Darbytown Road, 
where a flag of truce was at that moment pending. Taking 
with me Walter B. Chambliss, the brother and aide-de-camp of 
the general, we rode over three miles and struck the infantry 
line of battle exactly at the point where the flag was then pend- 
ing, and we had hardly dismounted at the breastworks before I 
noticed a squad of our men bringing a rough plank box towards 
the line of our works. I asked if they knew whose body they 
were carrying, to which they replied, *No, but some one had said 
the box contained some general or other.' I then told Walter 
that we must have the box opened at once, and this being done, 
we both identified the remains as the body of that gallant gentle- 



I70 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

man and soldier, John R. Chambliss. Swollen and disfigured 
as it was by his wounds and recent interment, we recognized him 
by his full beard and uniform, and lying on his breast was an 
envelope in which General Gregg (his classmate at West Point) 
had sent back to his family a pair of gold sleeve-buttons and his 
West Point class ring. 

"Saddened beyond measure, I turned over the rude coffin to 
Walter, and placing it in an ambulance, he set out for Richmond, 
leaving me to make my lonely way to our bivouac, on the Charles 
City Road, through the dark night. 

"There were no other persons connected with this service." 

I did not share in the early part of the engagement in which 
General Chambliss fell, but, on joining my company later in 
the day, learned the particulars of it from the men who had 
borne the brunt of it, which I gave in a letter written a few days 
later. I was present when an advance was made by Lee's Divi- 
sion in the afternoon, and learned how the Federal cavalry, be- 
fore a part of our line in a hurried retreat, left forty or more of 
their horses mired in a swamp just below where the road 
crosses it. 

The letter referred to, makes mention also of General A. P. 
Hill's battle on the Weldon Road, in which, after a hurried 
march, we participated. In this affair, the Federals lost 4,279 
men, and a brigadier-general (Joseph Hayes) was captured. Af- 
ter this severe engagement, it was my melancholy privilege to 
see numbers of our brave men, who had fallen, carted, like so 
many hogs dressed for market, in a state of nudity, for burial in 
their rude and shallow graves. 

In this battle, fought by Hill, I saw for the first time Briga- 
dier-General James Dearing, a young artillerist, who now had 
command of a brigade of cavalry, and his handsome appearance 
and fine military bearing impressed me greatly. From a group 
of Yankee horsemen, who had been scattered by his charge and 
were hiding in a swampy thicket, I secured a finely mounted offi- 
cer's sabre, which did me good service till the war ended. The 
weapon belonged to a field officer of the Twenty-fourth New 
York Cavalry. 

The letter mentioned above was begun on the 20th of August, 
interrupted by a call to arms, and was completed on the twenty- 
third of the month. It read as follows: 



Battle at White's Tavern in Charles City County 171 

"Below Petersburg, Va., 

"August 20, 1864. 

"My Dear M., — The sullen and significant boom of can- 
non greeted my ears many miles and hours before reaching my 
regiment after parting with you, and when I came up with them 
they were in the midst of battle, and hotly engaged. I was not 
surprised to find them faint, heated, and almost exhausted, un- 
der the labors of a severe engagement of a whole day's length, 
and mourning the loss of many comrades, whose forms, stiffen- 
ing in death, had not yet been committed to their last resting 
places beneath the sod. This was on Tuesday, the sixteenth day 
of August. 

"Our brigadier-general, John R. Chambliss, was killed early 
in the morning, and his body fell into the hands of the enemy, 
under circumstances which the papers will explain before this 
reaches you. Lieutenant J. T. Stewart was shot through the 
leg, the bone fractured, as soon as the first volley from the ene- 
my was received. Whilst he was being borne from the field, 
two more bullets, one in the body and the other in the re- 
maining leg, took effect and completed the work of death, well- 
nigh caused by the first missile that struck him. Poor Stewart 
lived an hour longer, and was painfully conscious that his end 
was at hand. His suffering cannot be depicted. With both legs 
horribly shattered, and with a most painful wound in his body, 
he was borne by four men, under a heavy fire and closely pressed 
by the enemy, for more than a mile, over ground obstructed by 
fallen timber, underbrush, and briers, and this, too, upon no 
stretcher, his chief support being the sabre belt that encircled his 
waist. Thus, bleeding, scratched, maimed, and gasping, he was 
at length placed in an ambulance to speedily undergo the final 
struggle with the great monster. His mind was troubled, but, 
amid the crowding thoughts that rushed upon him, while feel- 
ing that his life's current was ebbing fast away and his vital 
breath almost gone, he tenderly remembered his absent wife, and 
asked a soldier near him to say to his officers that he hoped they 
would not permit his family to suffer. 

"The spirit of the brave soldier animated him to the last, and 
shortly after saying that he hoped we would drive the Yankees, 
he yielded to the fell destroyer, and his face, which I had so 
often seen glow with the enthusiasm of the charge and the bat- 



172 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

tie, assumed the ashen paleness of death. As other human beings, 
he had his faults ; but I shall long remember him as possessed of 
many noble traits. He was buried in Oakwood Cemetery, in 
Richmond. 

"In the same battle Gordon F. Bowie was wounded painfully 
in the left breast and Bob Sanford in the ankle. These wounds 
are not believed to be serious, and I trust may not prove so, but 
slight wounds of late so often assume a dangerous character that 
I know not how to believe any casualty to be slight. 

"We reached here this morning, having left the north side 
yesterday about daybreak. A heavy battle was fought by Gen- 
eral A. P. Hill near here yesterday. Heth and Mahone were 
also engaged. They failed to drive the enemy from their posi- 
tion on the railroad, but drove them from two lines of works, 
capturing three thousand prisoners. The enemy drove our men 
back about night, catching some of them. Waller's Brigade was 
engaged. The Forty -seventh Regiment lost Lieutenant-Colonel 
John Lyell for a time, his arm having been amputated, and Major 
Lawson, of the Fifty-Fifth was killed. Captain Davis was com- 
manding the Fortieth. No officers in that regiment were killed 
so far as I have learned. Lieutenant Chandler was in the 
enemy's hands a while, but escaped. 

"August 23 rd — My letter was abruptly cut short at the close 
of the last sentence by the bugle call to mount. All day yester- 
day we lay in our fortifications, while the bullets flew constantly 
over our heads. This was not so bad as we anticipated in the 
morning, for we accompanied a long line of infantry, which we 
knew was moving around to attack the enemy upon his extreme 
flank on the Weldon railroad. We knew the Yankees were 
strong in numbers and positions, and we were aware, also, that 
it was of great importance to us that they should be dislodged. 
Accordingly, we reasonably concluded that a bloody day's work 
was before us. 

"Our infantry made the attack, as we expected, and their loss 
was very heavy. As the Yankees were found to be in much 
greater force than had been supposed, no assault was made upon 
their second line of works. Their first line was carried, and 
some prisoners were taken; report says about three thousand, 
but I can't vouch for it. Harris's Brigade lost two hundred and 
fifty men, the other brigades not so heavily ; but our list of cas- 



Battle at White s Tavern in Charles City County 173 

ualties on the whole is a sad one. I don't think a man was hurt 
in our regiment. 

"Since I rejoined the regiment our duties have been onerous 
and trying. Scarcely a night, I believe — no, not one — has been 
enjoyed in uninterrupted sleep. Our horses have gone whole 
days without food or water. And now, at the time when we sin- 
cerely hoped it might be quiet, the prospect is good that our la- 
bors will be increased. Hard fighting appears to me to be im- 
minent, as the Yankees are far from being discouraged by their 
lack of success into an abandonment of their operations against 
Richmond, but seem only fairly to have commenced the consum- 
mation of their designs. 

^'Cheering news reached us yesterday from the Valley, which 
I believe, is correct, that the Yankees were compelled to retire 
before Early. If the latter general proves more than a match for 
them in that quarter, it must have the effect of still further re- 
ducing their strength here. The fall is approaching, and a few 
more weeks must decide this momentous campaign. 

. . . You will have heard probably before this reaches you 
of the death of Sergeant Stephen Hardwick in a hospital in 
Richmond from a wound received at Nance's Shop. Poor 
Bushrod Brown, wounded in the same battle, must, I fear, soon 
follow his comrade. 

"May God continue to bless you is my prayer. W." 



CHAPTER XXVIII 



WILSON S RAID 



I 



N the latter part of June 1864, after the Army of the Poto- 
mac had crossed James River and gone into position before 
Petersburg, two powerful cavalry movements were proposed by 
General Grant, which, if successful, gave the promise of the 
downfall of Richmond nine or ten months earlier than it oc- 
curred. One of these was the expedition led by General Sheri- 
dan for the purpose of destroying the railroad connection be- 
tween Richmond and Charlottesville, and the latter place and 
Lynchburg, and forming a union at that city with General 
Hunter. This raid was successfully intercepted and defeated by 
General Wade Hampton in a bloody engagement near Trevil- 
lian Station. The other movement was that which Brigadier- 
General James H. Wilson was directed to make around the 
southern wing of Lee's army, past Reams station, on the Wel- 
don Road, and thence to the Southside Road, and on to Burke- 
ville, and from that point down the Danville road to that city, 
destroying the tracks and bridges, culverts, and depots, and such 
military stores as might fall in his way. 

This latter expedition, known as "Wilson's Raid," had at its 
head a young and daring officer to whose command of eleven 
regiments were added four others under Brigadier-General Au- 
gust Kautz. A circumstance which greatly encouraged and gave 
promise to the undertaking was the absence on the north side of 
the James of nearly the whole of Hampton's cavalry, which was 
occupied with Sheridan. 

Wilson set out on this raid at two A. M. on June 22nd, 
doubtless followed by the profound interest and good wishes of 
President Lincoln, who was that day a visitor at the headquar- 
ters of General Grant. On the day that Kautz reached Burke- 
ville, and Wilson was occupied on the Southside Road with 
"rail-twisters" and other implements of destruction, Hampton 
was fighting his victorious battle with Gregg at Nance's shop, 
near the Pamunkey River, and General W. H. F. Lee with a 
small part of his command only was available to follow and har- 

174 



Wilsons Raid 175 

ass the raiders. This he did, however, in a way greatly to pre- 
vent the extent and thoroughness of the injury to the railroads. 

On the 27th of June, five days after this expedition began, a 
message to General Grant from Wilson said: "At four P. M., 
23rd, Kautz reached Burkeville, burned depot and track, and 
pushed on towards Meherrin station, tearing up the track effect- 
ually. In the afternoon near the Nottoway River ... the 
Third Division met a division of rebel cavalry, W. H. F. Lee's 
and, after a sharp fight of several hours defeated them. . . . 
We could not get the Roanoke bridge, although a severe loss was 
experienced in the attempt." 

This bridge was defended by Lieutenant B. L Farinholt with 
a small infantry force behind several well-placed earthen re- 
doubts, and from the engagement here, Wilson began his re- 
treat through the Counties of Charlotte, Lunenburg, and Din- 
widdie, spreading consternation and horror along his route. It 
is most probable the rations for both men and horses were by 
this time exhausted, and it was found necessary that subsistence 
for both should be drawn from the country through which thev 
passed. The depredations committed on this retreat were in no 
sense confined, however, to what was necessary for subsistence, 
but private homes and churches along the lines of march were 
looted with ferocious greed, and jewelry, silverware, books, wo- 
men's apparel, family pictures, parlor ornaments, communion 
plates, goblets, altar cloths and hymnals were appropriated by 
the cavalrymen and hid upon their persons. 

While these transactions under Wilson and Kautz were in 
progress, Hampton closed his pursuit of Gregg after his defeat 
at Nance's shop, in Charles City County, and hastened with his 
regiments to the vicinity of Reams Station, at the extremity of 
General Lee's lines, so as to be in position to intercept Wilson in 
his attempt to get back. 

My regiment reached Stony Creek Station, on the Weldon 
Road, about midday on June 29th, and, after a brief halt, were 
ordered out on the road leading to Sappony Church, near which 
Wilson's advance dismounted in a line reaching across a field 
and orchard, were engaged by the Tenth and Thirteenth Regi- 
ments on foot. A charge in the saddle was made by Captain 
Ball's squadron of our regiments, and Companies C and K, with 
the first of which I was connected, were sent to the right a mile 



176 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

• 
or so to barricade and guard a private road. Shortly after we 
moved off on this duty, the Holcombe Legion arrived, and took 
position in the line near the church, which we had left. Our 
party, after collecting rails, logs, and brush, blocked the road to 
which we had been sent, so as to prevent horses from passing 
over it, and laid down on our arms to dispute the enemy's pas- 
sage, should any appear in the night. The night was a well- 
nigh sleepless one, the continuous firing on the line near us keep- 
ing us awake, and causing a constant apprehension that our own 
position would be assailed. 

Towards morning, the fusilade on our line began to slacken, 
and at daylight had ceased, indicating that Wilson had failed to 
force a passage at this point, and had withdrawn in quest of 
some other way of escape. The companies with which I was 
serving were ordered to rejoin the regiment near the church; 
and during a brief wait there, I had opportunity to inspect the 
bullet marks on the building, and how, in the damage inflicted, 
the pulpit and Bible had not escaped. I also saw in a near-by 
orchard a number of fresh graves of Wilson's men, who had 
fallen the evening before. 

The sound of guns to our left as we moved back towards 
Reams Station that morning led us to believe that other Con- 
federate troops had been encountered by Wilson's command, 
which proved to be true. General Fitz Lee, with his division, 
and General Mahone, with three brigades of infantry, having 
struck them on other roads and put them into confusion and 
rout, capturing all their artillery, wagons, and ambulances. 

Early in the afternoon, as we marched on the road leading 
over Stony Creek, and shortly after passing a bridge on it, our 
column was halted, and some excitement seemed to prevail in the 
regiments in front, as if the fugitive enemy had been met. We 
were looking ahead eagerly to see if this were true, when, sud- 
denly, we heard the tramp of horses' feet and the rattling of 
sabres approaching us by a road leading into. ours through a fine 
forest. In a moment, at Hampton's command, one of our guns, 
which chanced to be at the intersection of these roads, was un- 
limbered, but was not used, the Yankee line responding promptly 
to the call to surrender. 

It now became known to us that while we had been waiting 
at this point, Kautz's column had approached dur line of march 



Wilsons Raid I77 

behind us, in the interval between our regiment and the one 
next to us, and had rapidly dashed through. The squadron to 
which I was attached, occupying a favorable position to give 
them chase, was sent forward at a gallop. The dust made by 
the fleeing column might soon be seen, and, as we dashed towards 
it groups of contraband negroes, artillerymen on horses without 
saddles, and cavalrymen on jaded animals, were overtaken and 
captured. Our men on the fleetest horses outstripped the others, 
and their pistol shots could be heard as they overtook once and 
again the rear of the enemy's column. 

At one point in this exciting chase, the dust seen to our left 
showed that the enemy's column had rounded an angle in the 
road, and that we by cutting across a wide field could cut a large 
part of it oH. A few men followed Lieutenant Lai Washington 
to accomplish this, and succeeded in halting a column several 
hundred yards in length, who began immediately to cast down 
their arms and make ready to surrender, the thick dust as yet pre- 
venting them from seeing the fewness of the group to whom they 
were surrendering. As the dust settled, however, the forms of 
our few men became visible, and the column in the act of sur- 
rendering, changed their mind, and drove our boys off, with a 
severe wound inflicted on Willie Jett, the same who afterwards 
figured in the discovery and death of J. Wilkes Booth. 

No other troops having fresh horses coming at this juncture 
to our aid, the parties pursued by us, with General Kautz and 
Colonel Samuel Spear leading them, made good their escape. 

The prisoners who had fallen into our hands with their horses 
and equipments were more than we could well manage. With a 
detail of men I undertook to get them together and march them 
back. An officer among them wore a handsome pair of cavalry 
boots, which one of our men proposed to have him exchange for 
his well-worn shoes ; but I checked him, insisting that a prisoner's 
personal belongings must not be taken from him. As this officer 
marched back on foot, sundry women's lace collars and other 
articles, which had been taken from a Lunenburg home, fell to 
the ground from beneath his coat. Seeing this, I called the man 
who wanted his fine boots, and withdrew all objection to his tak- 
ing them. Very many of the prisoners, it was found, were con- 
cealing on their persons jewelry and other valuable articles taken 
from private homes which had been robbed. 



178 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

Wilson, with the larger part of his force, after the encounter 
with Mahone and Fitz Lee, hastened in disorder and route 
towards Jarratt's station and the Nottoway River in a wide de- 
tour. Kautz's division became separated from Wilson's in a 
manner thus stated by him: "Our expedition was very success- 
ful until this afternoon, when we were surrounded and over- 
powered, and had to abandon our transportation, wounded and 
prisoners. I escaped with my division by taking it through the 
woods and charging across the railroad." Nearly one thousand 
of Wilson's men followed Kautz in this endeavor to escape 
"through the woods," and their escape was a narrow one, and 
with heavy loss, as has been shown. 

For several days, Wilson in pursuing the long route chosen for 
escape was out of communication with the Federal commanders, 
and in army circles gravest apprehensions were felt for his cap- 
ture. Grant telegraphed to Washington : "Kautz, with his cav- 
alry and a portion of Wilson's, succeeded in passing the enemy 
and getting in, but with the loss of his artillery and wagons. 
Wilson, with most of his command, was cut off and is supposed 
to have gone back south. Immediately on receipt of news that 
Wilson was returning. General Meade sent Wright's corps to 
aid him. Sheridan was also ordered to join him." 

Kautz was ordered to accompany Sheridan, but informed 
General Meade: "My command is in no condition to do any- 
thing: the main cause of our rout was the worn-out condition of 
the men. Men and horses have had nothing to eat for forty- 
eight hours, and they are exhausted from loss of sleep. If Wil- 
son cannot extricate himself we can do nothing more for him." 

The suspense as to Wilson and his men in army circles was re- 
lieved on the night of July ist", when a dispatch was received by 
Grant from Lieutenant Miles G. Carter, of the prevost guard, 
saying: "I have the honor to forward inclosed a dispatch from 
General Wilson. I sent a portion of my guard . . . which 
met the division along the stage road this side of Cabin Point. 
General Wilson, having no horses in condition to carry this dis- 
patch, requested me to forward it to general headquarters." 

The message inclosed from Wilson stated: "Having sent an 
officer via Powhatan and City Point to communicate with you, 
I have delayed in sending in a written report till I could get 
some sleep." 



Wilsons Raid 179 

General Grant took the rough experience of Wilson philo- 
sophically, having wired Meade on July ist, *'Will it not be 
well to send orders for Sheridan to return, now that Wilson is 
heard from. I regret the disaster, but the work done by Wilson 
and his cavalry is of great importance. I understand from 
Kautz's description that it will take the enemy several weeks 
to repair the damage done the Southside and Danville roads." 

The emptying of revolvers into the rear of Kautz's routed 
column, mentioned above, as we gave them chase, must have been 
seriously effective, since in many cases our men were almost 
touching those at whom they fired. On the day following, when 
these men had gone within the Federal lines, the surgeon-in-chief 
of Kautz's Division made requisition on General Butler's medi- 
cal director ''for ten ambulances at Cabin Point, Va., for the 
transportation of the wounded of Kautz's Cavalry Division." 

Three days after Wilson's return to within the Federal lines, 
General Meade sent him the following communication through 
his assstant adjutant-general: "General, I am directed by the 
major-general commanding to invite your attention to the edi- 
torial article in the Richmond Examiner of the 2nd instant (copy 
herewith) commenting upon your recent expediton. The com- 
manding general cannot believe that the statements of the article 
are well founded, but, as the cases of alleged depredations are in 
several instances cited with particularity, he deems it due to you 
as the commander of the expedition that you should be made ac- 
quainted with the serious charges against its management, set 
forth in the article in question, and be allowed an opportunity of 
denying them; and he also desires your report, so that he may 
be able to promptly answer any official call that may be made 
upon him for information touching the allegations, should the 
matter hereafter be brought to his notice. . . . The com- 
manding general wishes you to have at once a thorough inspec- 
tion made of your command, with a view of ascertaining wheth- 
er any of the officers or men have in their possession any plate, 
watches, etc., taken under the circumstances mentioned in the 
editorial." 

If such an inspection was made, as the honorable and manly 
instincts of General Meade prompted him to order, and no such 
private and personal property as is named was found, it simply 



l8o A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

shows that the followers of Wilson and Kautz who escaped 
stood in singular contrast with their comrades whom we cap- 
tured. 



CHAPTER XXIX 

THE BATTLE AT REAMS STATION 

npHE following letter written on the day after the events to 
'■' which it relates describes the part taken by a portion of 
Hampton's cavalry in the severe engagement at Reams Station 
on the 26th of August, 1864. 

"Tabernacle Church, Dinwiddie Co., Va., 

"Aug. 27, '64. 
"My Dearest Mother: 

"I reached this meeting house last night at the hour of twelve 
from the battle field amidst the severest storm of thunder, rain, 
and lightning that I have witnessed during my life. The storm 
was terribly grand, excelling the sublimity (if that be the word 
to use) of the awful cannonade which had been shaking the 
earth beneath us for several hours during the preceding after- 
noon. 

"Yesterday morning, our slumber was broken in upon (for 
the ninth night) by the boot-and-saddle call several hours before 
day and sleepy and hungry we rose from our damp couches and 
before breakfast had arrived we had passed our outpost pickets 
and were dismounted and deployed in close proximity to the 
enemy. 

"We were moving to attack the extreme southern end of 
Grant's army. A. P. Hill was moving with his infantry against 
his works three or four miles above us, near Reams Station, 
and we were making a diversion in that General's favor. 

"The shot from the enemy's picket whizzed close by me, and 
was the signal for our line to spring forward on the charge. 
Through a swamp, with our steps impeded by briers, miry places, 
dead timber, thick underbrush and huckleberry bushes, we moved 
not 'silent as the breeze' nor 'dreadful as the storm,' but still we 
moved, and by discharging our carbines as fast as we could, soon 
cleared our front and gained a position far in advance of our line 
on the right of us. Then we halted for the line to be moved up. 
From the rapidity of the firing in that quarter, we perceived 
that the enemy was massed against our right wing, and that we 

181 



l82 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in hees Army 

on the left were now unresisted ; accordingly we advanced rapid- 
ly until we reached a line beyond that of the enemy, and then 
swung around from left to right, thus threatening the Yankees' 
rear just at the moment our right squadrons drove them from 
their works. As the enemy ran, you may know, we let them 
have it. Several killed and more wounded fell at this point, and 
about a company were taken as prisoners ; a few horses were cap- 
tured, and sixteen shooting rifles, with ammunition — more than 
enough to supply a full platoon. 

"After this the Yankee cavalry, much of which could be seen 
in front of us retired without exposing their persons to 'rebel' 
bullets. We had a brief chance at about a brigade of them, 
however, who chose to hide themselves in faster than quick time 
as'soon as we commenced firing. 

"When the cavalry cleared away we discovered that we were 
confronting the enemy's infantry, and soon a long line of these 
'horned cattle' were seen moving directly towards us. Up to 
this time only four squadrons of our regiment had been engaged; 
now the remainnder of the brigade and another regiment were 
thrown in. This line, extending entirely across the open fields 
and into the woods on each side, quickly began to remove fences, 
logs, etc., and to prepare a line of fortifications for shelter. 
Against this the Yankees made no serious attack, and for several 
hours we were kept frowning, perspiring, burning, beneath the 
powerful rays of an extremely hot sun. 

"Finally, about twelve o'clock, the enemy showed signs of ad- 
vancing, and as it would the better enable our commanders to 
succeed in their flank movement, it was deemed proper to with- 
draw our line to another position which had been more securely 
fortified. We moved back, getting a heavy fire as we did so, and 
established our second line as the enemy poured into the works 
which we had vacated. In this position, we enjoyed the breeze 
of a hill, the cool shade of trees, the refreshing water of a neigh- 
boring well, and the contents of a cider cask, found in a house 
adjacent. As the Yankee shells had ceased to come close and 
their bullets were less frequent, time with us passed decidedly 
more agreeably. 

"The mid-day hour had been passed by two hours, perhaps, 
while our generals were spying with their glasses and listening 
anxiously as though they were looking for developments that 



The Battle at Reams Station 183 

ought to have taken place before, when, suddenly the boom of 
artillery was heard far back in rear of the Yankees, and the in- 
distinct sound of cheers was borne to us upon the breeze, which 
having sprung up half an hour before, now greatly cooled the 
atmosphere. 

" 'Forward' was soon shouted to our skirmishers, but before 
one of them had moved a foot, the entire line of Yankees had be- 
come supple at the trot. Our mounted men and artillery went 
forward at a pace with which we could not compete, and soon 
the voice of battle waxed loud in our front. Our horses were 
ordered to be brought up. The signs that hot work was going 
on in front soon became numerous, as various squads of prisoners 
came back, and wounded men and troopers carrying their saddles 
on their backs. 

*'We kept on — passed our artillery — went into the thick 
woods, came up with and went by the skirmish line, reached a 
position where the Yankee bullets were whistling, then halted 
and advanced another skirmish line. Here we gathered logs, 
etc., to protect our position, when it was said the Yankees were 
enfilading us, and we moved back into the thick woods and forti- 
fied our position again. From this line, we were soon moved 
again, but did not go far before we were ordered to lie down 
without any shelter. During nearly the entire afternoon there 
had been firing on our right and left and artillery firing in front 
and rear — Yankees in front, and our guns in rear. These had 
almost ceased now, except that a rattle of small arms was kept 
up on the left, and now and then a Yankee gun barked like an 
angry dog. 

"Whilst lying down at rest, we were disturbed once or twice 
for the purpose of a better alignment, as several additional bodies 
of men were brought into the line. Finally, we were 'fixed 
right,' as was said, and we lay down again. The sun was red 
and shone through the tops of distant trees on our wearied forms 
prostrate upon the ground, weak and worn from hunger, excite- 
ment, and labor. We were stiff, and some were saying *I can- 
not hold out to walk far to our horses.' We thought our fight- 
ing was over and that we ought to be relieved. Soon we were 
startled by the instantaneous discharge of many capnons and the 
clear, ringing cheers of ten thousand throats that rose from the 
dense woods directly ahead of us, with deafening noise. Amid 



184 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

the tumultuous noises we could discover the rattle of many mus- 
kets, and we imagined the veteran regiments of Mahone, Heth, 
Hoke, etc., were bearing down on the enemy's rear and forcing 
them back on us. We became considerably excited, and for the 
moment, quite forgot our weariness. For an hour, the roar of 
battle continued with greater or less intensity, and we strove to 
discover how the conflict was going, now thinking that Southern 
arms were sweeping the enemy's works clean, and then, as the 
cheering rose higher and clearer, that our line had recoiled be- 
for the well known strength of the Yankees' position. It was 
generally believed we were driving them, though, and this belief 
was soon strengthened by our line being ordered to advance. 

"The sun was scarcely a half hour high when our men moved 
off with orders to 'be slow on the left and fast on the right,' with 
the added promise, then 'you'll bag them.' 

"Never marched men over worse ground than we on this oc- 
casion. For fifty yards at times my feet did not touch the 
ground. We had to walk over felled trees or crouch down to get 
through them. No man seemed to think of danger. We were 
all zeal and enthusiasm. No doubt, it was supposed the Yankees 
were whipped and we had nothing to do but catch them. 

"After passing up and down several hills, through much up- 
right and felled timber and one boggy ravine, we began ascend- 
ing ground that rose gently from the base of the hill, tearing 
ourselves as best we could through the thick abattis of fallen 
trees and bushes, till we came in full view of the enemy's earth- 
works, frowning on the hill-tops, scarcely fifty yards off. For 
them we made, firing and cheering. I have little recollection 
whether the Yankees' fire was heavy here or not. Very soon 
our men were at the works, on them, and in them. The Yan- 
kees to our left surrendered down the whole of the line. Those 
on the right poured volley after volley into our ranks. We were 
pretty well protected by the cross defenses which they had 
thrown up against an enfilading fire. We cheered and fired. 
The Yankees were now flanked, they saw; the Rebels were in 
their works and they began to falter. * * * Now the 
right of our line which had been delayed by the difficult nature 
of the ground on which they moved, opened a hot fire upon the 
earthworks, and we who in the works leaped up and charged. 
The enemy surrendered for a hundred yards at a time, many of 



The Battle at Reams Station 185 

them running towards us empty-handed, appealing for mercy. 
As fast as we could, we rushed on until not an armed foe re- 
mained in the works. Many of those who had fled rallying 
around their artillery in reserve at the edge of some woods, con- 
tinued to fire. We tore down their captured colors, and cheer- 
ing around our own, waved them triumphantly. 

"I had ventured with a party of our men very near the woods, 
hoping to take possession of a small earthwork and the Yankees 
who were cowering in it, fully expecting that our men would 
push on and take the Yankee artillery, several pieces of which 
were already deserted. The fire from the woods, however, be- 
came so serious that most of our men stopped behind the cap- 
tured works. 

"Colonel Roberts, of the Second North Carolina Cavalry, or- 
dered me, with the men in advance, to fall back to where he was. 
It was a moment of hesitation, as I feared being shot either by 
the Yankees or by our own men. I started and reached the ram- 
part in safety, but just as I was in the act of leaping over it, a 
minnie ball struck me on the right hip and I fell into the ditch, 
supposing from the shock and pain that I was badly hurt. A 
soldier helped me up, though, and I hobbled off. The pain soon 
subsided, and when I stopped in a place out of danger and ex- 
amined the wound, I found the bullet had struck the copper 
mountings of my belt and merely bruised me. 

"The fight subsided at once, and our men came out, having 
captured over 1,200 prisoners and secured much plunder. As I 
came out I met father, whose fine horse, 'Blue Devil,' had been 
shot in the head. Gouldin, of Company C, is among those killed. 
A fine fellow he was — in the bloom of youth. Our regiment lost 
heavily in men, and particularly in the worth of those injured. 
For these our hearts are pained. We dealt a good blow for our 
army, and God blessed us with a victory of which we are proud. 
We are all well. May the Lord keep you from harm is my 
prayer ! 

"Affectionately, your son, 

"G. W. B." 

The battle described in part in the above letter was fought by 
General Hancock's corps re-enforced with Mott's and Gibbon's 
divisions, and Gregg's and Kautz's cavalry, on the one side and 
Cook's and McRae's N. C. brigades, under Gen. Heth, and 



i86 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

Lane's N. C. brigade under Brig. General Conner, Pegram's 
battery and Hampton's cavalry under that General on the other. 
The Federal position was in the vicinity of Reams Station, about 
ten miles south of Petersburg on the railroad leading to Weldon, 
and was protected on three sides by formidable earthworks breast 
high, guarded at intervals by transverse works as protection 
against an enfilading fire. In front of these strongly fortified 
lines were rifle-pits for the protection of the skirmish line. Where 
there chanced to be woods near these works, the trees had been 
felled and dense abattis formed. A glance at the situation was 
enough to satisfy one that it meant desperate and bloody work 
to drive Hancock from his position. 

Several circumstances were favorable to the Confederates in 
making their attack. One was that the rise in the ground oc- 
cupied by a part of Gibbon's division offered a fine opportunity 
to the southern artillery to play on the men there and drive them 
from the works. Another was the fact that many of Gibbon's 
men were bounty jumpers from Europe who had landed in New 
York only two weeks previously. Another important considera- 
tion helpful to the Confederates was a field of growing corn in 
front of a long line of the Federal troops, under cover of which 
a part of Hill's men could advance very near the works before 
being discovered. 

When the combined charge of the Southern infantry and cav- 
alry was made late in the afternoon its desperate nature recalled 
to General Hancock as he states in his report, the terrific scenes 
which he had witnessed at the "Bloody Angel" in Spottsylvania. 

Captain Brown, commanding batteries A and B, Rhode Isl- 
and Light Artillery, whose guns were defending the works, de- 
clared of the Confederate infantry's assault "they came en masse, 
and with as reckless determination as was ever seen. The in- 
fantry line gave way on the right. They jumped onto the re- 
doubts, and even pulled the men over them seizing them while 
standing at their posts." 

Another Union artillerist engaged against this assault said: 
"The rebel sharpshooters, from their position in the corn field 
had full range of the horses attached to our limbers and rapidly 
shot them down until not one remained unhurt on either limber, 
many receiving five or six bullets before they fell." 

However glad we were to capture the guns it was one of the 



The Battle at Reams Station 187 

sad and impressive sights of war — that of the eight abandoned 
cannon and limbers, and near by the dead forms of the horses 
which had been hitched to them all fallen in their tracks with 
their harness on them, and lying within a few paces of each 
other. 

After the Confederate infantry on one side and cavalry on 
the other had stormed the works, much of the Federal force was 
in rapid and disorganized retreat, and as darkness settled down 
on the scene the last of them began to retire. 

A messenger under flag of truce to General Hampton from 
General Hancock the following day asked the privilege of send- 
ing in a party to bury his dead. Hampton replied that he was 
having the work done himself and declined the proposal. 

The deep ditch or trench beside the breastworks was used 
for the reception of the dead bodies, and these having been laid 
in it were covered with earth, thus ofEering a melancholy il- 
lustration of how often brave men in making works for their 
protection literally dig their own graves. 



f CHAPTER XXX 

CAVALRY BATTLE ON THE BOYDTON PLANK ROAD, OCTOBER 

27, 1864 

npHE hot cavalry engagement referred to in the accompanying 
-■• extracts from letters written from the army, less than two 
days after its occurrence, was conducted by Major-General 
Wade Hampton on one side and Major-General D. McD. 
Gregg on the other, and took place on the Boydton Plank Road, 
in Dinwiddie County, October 27, 1864. 

The statement in the letter signed "Dick" that ''the enemy 
had penetrated our cavalry line before we knew it," is explained 
by the capture of Major Venable, of General Hampton's staff, 
who bore at the time, an important message. Of this General 
Hampton wrote: "I had previously ordered Bearing to bring his 
brigade from the trenches on the north side of Hatcher's Run, 
and to take position on the Plank Road. General Hill thought 
Dearing could not be withdrawn from the position he held, and 
notice of this was sent to me by Major Venable of my staff, who 
had borne the orders to Dearing from me. He was captured on 
his return, and thus I was left in ignorance that a very important 
position was open. The enemy advanced in the very direction 
that was unguarded, and the first intimation I had of this fact, 
was his presence on the Plank Road in my rear." 

In the disposition which Hampton made to meet the dangers 
which now confronted him, it was arraigned that W. H. F. Lee, 
with his division, should make an attack on the Plank Road, 
while Hampton's other troops co-operated in another quarter. 
"While Butler," Hampton wrote, "was attacking on the White 
Oak Road. Lee struck the enemy on the Plank Road, and drove 
him handsomely." 

Of the attack by Lee, General Gregg reported: "The regi- 
ment on the left had just about struck the enemy's skirmishers, 
when heavy firing was heard in the rear on the Plank Road. Re- 
pairing to this point, I found the enemy's cavalry dismounted at- 
tacking strongly, aided by the fire of four rifled guns. * * * 
The attack of the enemy was very determined, and made in large 



Cavalry Battle on the Boydton Plank Road 189 

force. * * * At 10,30 P. M., the division began moving 
by the road upon which it had advanced in the morning." 

Of this nocturnal retreat, Hampton informed General Lee: 
**We had driven him on all the roads, and he was massed in the 
field around the houses of Bond and Burgess. The night having 
grown very dark and a heavy rain coming on, I was forced to 
pause in my attack. * * * In the morning, the enemy was 
found to have retired from the field, leaving his dead and many 
wounded in my hands. 

''The enemy left in his retreat several caissons, three ambu- 
lances, binders, many small arms and accoutrements. We cap- 
tured two hundred and thirty-nine prisoners, besides the wound- 
ed, of which there was a large number. My command behaved 
well, and I have again to express my pride in their good con- 
duct." 

It is to be regretted that the report of this affair by General 
W. H. F. Lee has not been preserved, though referred to by 
General Hampton. Of the cavalry in this action General R. E. 
Lee wrote: "In a letter to General Hill to-day, I expressed m)' 
gratification at the conduct of the troops in general, and of the 
cavalry in particular." 

Now follow the letters before mentioned, one from my broth- 
er Dick, the other from my own hand : 

"Camp Near Dinwiddie Courthouse, 

October ii, 1864. 

"Dearest M. — Thankful I am again to be permitted to write 
to you to inform you that we have again been spared, and arc 
still enjoying our usual good health. Since last writing to you 
we have been engaged in another fearful battle, and as usual, 
our company has been a heavy sufferer. 

"A few days ago, the enemy advanced along their whole line, 
and had penetrated our cavalry line before we knew it. We 
quickly saddled up however, and moved around on the Plank 
Road to meet him. About four P. M., on Thursday, we were 
dismounted and thrown on either side of that road, and ordered 
to advance on the enemy. This we did, and soon met his ad- 
vance. From that time, until nine o'clock at night, the battle 
raged fiercely, and although we drove the enemy from every po- 
sition, we lost heavily. 

"Our company lost two of its noblest members — Bush Beale 



I90 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

• 
and John Brown. A minnie ball struck poor Bush in the left 
ear and lodged in the brain. He died instantly without a groan. 

"John Brown was shot through the head, and never spoke. 
Our wounded are Lieutenant Lai Washington, (badly), W. M. 
Walker (dangerously), Fred Wheelwright (badly), Ed Porter 
(slightly), Eugene Battle (slightly). 

"After the fight I brought poor Bush off the field, dressed him 
and buried him. He was one of my best friends, and no one's 
death among our men has caused me so much sorrow. He died 
as he lived, nobly doing his duty. 

"Brother W. was not in the fight, on account of a painful 
sore on his leg. Claybrook and I went through the whole affair, 
he receiving a bullet through his breeches' leg, and I one through 
my haversack. Father commanded the brigade, and the officers 
say handled it nobly. 

"Heartily, 

"DICK." 

In the other letter of similar date to that of the one above, 
mention is made of the soldiers particularly named as skilled, as 
also of others either wounded or killed as follows: "Bushrod 
Beale was killed instantly. You know how I admired, how I 
loved him. No truer or more gallant soldier fills a hero's grave. 
He is gone — his mirth and spirit and life are gone, and I shall 
look in vain for his coming ; look in vain to hear his merry laugh, 
and catch the glance of his warm, bright eye ; his memory is all 
that remains, but it is cherished fondly. Another noble soldier, 
pierced in the temple, is gone, leaving a void in our company to 
be wept over by every one that cherishes genuine worth and ap- 
preciates and admires the qualities that ennoble the soldier — I 
mean John N. Brown. Three lieutenants are wounded in the 
Ninth Regiment, among them Lieutenant Washington, who is 
in danger of losing an arm, twenty fragments of bone having 
been already extracted. Willie Walker was very badly wounded, 
the ball having passed through both legs. As he was not well 
of a wound received nearly three years ago, I am fearful as to his 
recovery. Our flag bearer was shot twice. The last time the 
ball passed through his head, killing him instantly. Two men 
were wounded in the Richmond County Cavalry, and one killed 
Captain J. Van Holt Nash and Captain Boiling, of our brigade 
staff, were both wounded, the latter fatally." 



Cavalry Battle on the Boydton Plank Road 191 

The two staff officers mentioned in these letters — Nash and 
Boiling — were gallant men, courteous and polite in their man- 
ner, and chivalrous and dashing in battle. Boiling was from 
Maryland, and a worthy associate of the many devoted and 
dauntless men from that state who came to do service under our 
flag. 

The flag-bearer of our regiment, Elijah Williams, of the Lan- 
caster troop, had on a previous occasion met with a desperate 
wound in which the bullet having struck a brass button on his 
coat, drove the button through his body. From this wound he 
fully recovered, but on this bloody field he was stricken down, 
and ended his life which had been no less marked by piety and 
prayer than by devotion to duty and daring in battle. 



CHAPTER XXXI 

GENERAL WADE HAMPTON AND HIS FINE MANAGEMENT OF A 
RAID AFTER CATTLE IN SEPTEMBER, 1 864 



M 



Y first knowledge of Wade Hampton was gained through 
a copy of Frank Forester's "Field Sports of North Ameri- 
ca," the dedicatory line of which was somewhat as follows: **To 
Colonel Wade Hampton, of 'The Cedars,' South Carolina, the 
greatest sportsman in all the land," I had learned of his passion- 
ate fondness for the chase, of his equestrian skill, and of his dex- 
trous art in drawing the shy trout from the mountain brook, be- 
fore the pleasure had come to me of seeing him. I had learned, 
too, of the free and patriotic use which he had made of his pri- 
vate means in equipping for service the Hampton Legion, which 
he led into the field in 1861. 

When, at length, I saw him, he was attired in the uniform of 
a Confederate colonel of cavalry, and was mounted on a finely- 
bred horse of noble carriage and action. He was in the early 
prime of healthful and vigorous manhood. His figure was tall 
and splendidly proportioned. His forehead w^as broad and high, 
his hair black, and his beard moderately long and thick, with a 
heavy mustache curling gracefully about the corners of his lips. 
His form and bearing on horseback were commanding and grace- 
ful, and his easy management of his steed showed him a superb 
master of the situation. Taken altogether he was a military 
figure to arrest attention and command admiration. 

In the grand review of the cavalry of the Army of Northern 
Virginia on the eighth of June, 1863, held at Brandy Station, in 
Culpeper, Generals, R. E. Lee, Stuart, Hampton, Fitz Lee and 
other generals, galloped down in front of the long ranks of 
horsemen in gray, receiving the salute of the thousands of up- 
raised sabres. The magnificent bearing of those trained horse- 
men, as their plumes rose and fell in the gallop, was a sight never 
to be forgotten by the men who witnessed it. Hampton appeared 
to splendid advantage, and to hundreds of young and admiring 
soldiers he seemed the beau ideal of Southern grace and chivalry. 
Later in the day, his artillery was unlimbered on an eminence as 

192 



Gen. Hampton and His Fine Management of a Raid 193 

if in readiness for action, and soon he might be seen leading his 
regiments in a sham charge against the thundering guns. Horse- 
men must have been timid and laggard indeed not to have felt 
the stimulus and inspiration of his dash and gestures as he gal- 
loped forward into the smoke of the guns. 

But a few weeks later I saw him leading his division into 
action at Gettysburg. It was on the afternoon of the third and 
decisive day of that sanguinary struggle. The divisions of Fitz 
Lee and William H. F. Lee had been desperately engaged in 
charges and hand-to-hand combat, and the latter, much broken 
and disorganized, were falling back, hotly pressed by fresh and 
exultant regiments in blue. A large barn was a conspicuous 
mark in the line occupied by our dismounted regiments, and the 
Federals had reached this point, threatening to capture the whole 
body of dismounted men, when Hampton came into view at the 
head of his column. For a time as he dashed toward the barn, 
he held the colors in his right hand, and his men responded to his 
intrepid action with a mighty yell. Just as he closed in on the 
foe, he passed the flag back to its bearer at his side, and his 
bloody work began. A few minutes later he was brought back 
bleeding in limb and face, with an ugly gash across his brow. But 
he had saved the day on that part of the field. 

General Hampton was a soldier of consummate daring and 
prowess, and yet as cautious and prudent as he was brave. He 
looked unceasingly and well to the care of his men and horses, 
but expected them to answer to his own stern and unsparing 
sense of duty when the hour came to fight. The battles of Tre- 
villians, of Nance's Shop, and of Reams Station all stamp him 
as a stubborn and desperate fighter. No more formidable breast- 
works were successfully assaulted in Virginia probably than 
those over which Hampton's men, dismounted as infantry, climb- 
ed in the two latter engagements. 

No cooler man in the heat and rush of mortal combat per- 
haps ever wielded a sword than Wade Hampton. No tone of 
voice or change of countenance in him betrayed excitement in 
the most critical moments. On the morning after the hard 
night's encounter at Rowanty, in the effort to intercept Wilson's 
raiders, as he rode along in the midst of troops, who were moving 
in a densely-wooded country, a column of the enemy suddenly 
dashed up to the road-side from an obscure road leading through 



194 ^ Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

the woods. They were within a few feet of the general before 
a weapon could be drawn. He faced the situation with imper- 
turbable coolness and his command, "Unlimber that gun," rang 
out clear as a bugle-note. 

General Hampton was not an officer of military training. He 
owed nothing to West Point or other schools for the discipline 
of soldiers. He was rather a soldier by inheritance and natural 
aptitude. Like Forrest, he seemed to know by instinct when and 
how to strike. His plans and movements were not always ac- 
cording to the accepted rules of strategy. Sometimes his plan 
was criticized as against the canons recognized in high military 
circles. His movement around Grant's lines with the greater 
part of the cavalry of Lee's army, and the capture of over 2,400 
beeves in September, 1864, was notably a case in point. Yet, 
like most of the operations which he conducted, it was brilliantly 
successful. That affair justly commended Hampton to the es- 
teem of the hungry infantry in the lines before Petersburg, 
whose rations of beef had grown scarce. I am enabled to give 
an account of the enterprise as given in a private letter by one 
who shared in the march a few days after it occurred. It is as 
follows: 

"Camp Ninth Virginia Cavalry 
"On Cat-Tail Creek, Dinwiddie Co., Va., 

"September 19, 1864. 

"My dear mother: * * * General Hampton's visit to 
Prince George county was a bold and audacious affair. The 
Yankees were grazing several thousand fine beef cattle imme- 
diately in rear of the extreme right of their army, guarding them 
by three or four regiments of cavalry. For sake of getting these, 
General Hampton could not resist the temptation. Accordingly, 
he issued orders to his subordinate commanders to prepare a de- 
tail of picked men for the purpose of making the trial of bring- 
ing them out. These orders were subsequently altered so as to 
include every available man. 

"We started on Tuesday. As we had to pass around the left 
wing of the Federal army and down behind their entire line, it 
was well known that they would find out our designs in time to 
cut off our Tetreat ; cons^uently. Generals Young and Butler 
were left near the threatened point of intcrceptiQ© to keep our 



Gen. Hampton and His Fine Management of a Raid 195 

road open. We — W. H. F. Lee and Rosser's commands — went 
on our journey. 

*'We reached a point late in the afternoon from which we 
could easily strike the Yankees at daylight by a three hours' 
march. This was on Thursday. We went into camp, unsad- 
dled and rested until late at night, then quietly mounted and 
moved towards the cattle pound. Lee's orders were to move 
with his two brigades on a road between the Yankee army and 
their cattle, and hold the roads until Rosser secured and drove 
away the beeves. This we did. 

"The firing of Rosser's men was heard before light, and im- 
mediately on hearing the sound, our brigade charged down the 
main road which we were to hold, guarded by only a squadron 
or so of the enemy. These unsuspecting creatures, though 
warned of our approach by the firing below, had barely time to 
escape, and that without waiting to put on their clothing. Their 
tents, many horses, clothing and camp equipage, fell int:o the 
hands of us eager adventurers. 

"About twenty-five prisoners were secured at this point, chief- 
ly of the First District of Columbia Cavalry, those 'pet lambs,' 
armed with sixteenshooters given them by the loyal women of 
Washington and Georgetown. 

"General Rosser met with complete success, taking nearly a 
hundred prisoners, their camp appurtenances, three hundred 
horses and equipments, eleven wagons loaded with valuable sup- 
plies, and what was especially desired, 2,485 fine beef cattle, only 
fifty-three of which escaped on our return. 

"Long before we reached a point of safety coming back, wc 
learned that the enemy had possession of the road over which we 
were to pass, and that he intended to recover his beeves if possi- 
ble. We made haste to reach him, sometimes at a trot, some- 
times at a gallop, for fifteen miles, and at full speed came into 
line of battle just as the sun went down. The enemy was lav- 
ishing profuse attentions upon us in the way of solid shot and 
shells ; but we faced him resolutely and sent back screaming and 
glittering like meteors at night shot for shot, seemingly to say: 
'Come take your beeves if you can.' 

"General Gregg, the Yankee commander, acted timidly and 
badly, we thought, considering that we had his brother, Captain 
Gregg, a prisoner in our hands. We had not fought more than 



196 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

• 
forty minutes before he became silent, and withdrew, as if he 
said : 'Hampton, I'll have nothing to do with such a man. You 
steal my cattle and then beat me when I come to get them back.' 

"We did not move away until our cattle got well ahead, and 
by twelve o'clock that night were unsaddled in bivouac, on this 
side of Rowanty creek, inside of our picket line. 

**Our casualties were very slight. None killed in Chambliss's 
brigade, and but two or three wounded. Rosser lost several 
killed and had several wounded. Barringer and Dearing lost 
none. One horse in my company — that of Bugler Courtney — 
was abandoned, and will, I fear, be lost. 

"* * * Your loving son, 

"W." 

In the twilight engagement with Gregg mentioned in the 
above letter. General Hampton rode down in front of the line, 
making inquiries, and giving words of cheer. His moving figure 
could be seen against the crimson sky from which the sun had 
just disappeared. The guns were flashing front of him, and be- 
hind him, and the meteor-like shells were passing overhead. Such 
was the scene on which fell the curtain of night. It was a scene 
typical of the picturesque and historic Hampton, who moved 
securely amidst the fire of battle and whose figure is set ol¥ in 
the mellow glow of the patriotic and valorous deeds which have 
made his name immortal. 



CHAPTER XXXII 

RECOLLECTIONS OF THE BATTLE OF HATCHEr's RUN, FEBRUARY 

6, 1865 



H 



ATCHER'S Run is a small tributary of Rowanty Creek, 
in Dinwiddie County, flowing from northwest to southeast, 
a few miles from Petersburg. It is to be seen indicated on few, 
if any, maps of Virginia. It, however, assumed no little promi- 
nence in the operations of the armies under Grant and Lee, dur- 
ing the closing months of the siege of Petersburg. 

Along its course, many lines of riflepits were constructed and 
many intrenched positions taken by both armies. The custo- 
mary quietude and silence of the vales and hills beside it were, in 
consequence, often broken and caused to respond with the roar 
of cannon and the rattle of musketry. Its fields of conflict wit- 
nessed a number of desperate encounters, successful stormings of 
fortifications and bloody repulses. 

Pursuant to Grant's policy to turn the right and gain the rear 
of Lee's position, a formidable advance was made on this part 
oi the Federal line on February 6, 1865, under Major-General 
Warren, commanding the Fifth Army Corps. The divisions en- 
gaged in the movement were : Ayres's, Griffin's, Crawford's and 
Gregg's (cavalry). 

Of the crossing of the run General Warren reported : ''The 
stream was about sixty feet wide and could not be forded by men 
or horses, but trees were soon cut for the men to scramble over. 
The horses were able to cross on a bridge we made for them 
about one P. M." On the day following, Warren, having made 
his dispositions, and effected a junction with the Second Corps on 
his right, proceeded as he had been directed, to feel the enemy. 
Very soon he found, after driving the Confederates back for a 
time, that the firing continued to grow constant and severe, and 
compelled him to bring up the Third Brigade of Griffin's Divi- 
sion and to put it all with General Ayres's to hold his left. "Un- 
fortunately," he says, of his situation in this battle, "the enemy 
got up reinforcements faster than I could, and when a brigade of 
General Wheaton's division was nearing the scene of action a 

197 



198 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

* 
charge was made by the enemy in a force against which I had but 
six brigades opposed. Our line," he continues, "despite all the 
exertions of the prominent officers, and much good conduct 
among those in the ranks, gave way and fell back rapidly." 

• Major-General Wheaton, in relating the part taken by his di- 
vision in this action, says: "When three-quarters of a mile from 
the run, at about 5.30 P. M., the stragglers from the Third Di- 
vision, Fifth Corps, increased to such a number, and the changes 
in the sound of the firing indicating to me some misfortune to 
that division, I immediately ordered the Second Brigade into 
line, which was but partially effected, when the mass of the 
troops in front came rushing through the dense woods and quite 
over us, and it was with the greatest difficulty that the line could 
be formed, so obstructed was it by the fugitives, who were deaf 
to every entreaty of myself and staff. Squads, companies and reg- 
iments went rapidly to the rear, despite our greatest efforts to 
halt them. During this confusion, I was informed that the line 
to the right had broken irreparably." 

In the earlier stages of this day's (February 6th) fighting 
Pegram's Confederate Division was opposed by superior num- 
bers and forced back, its gallant commander having been killed. 
Later Evans's Division came to the support of Pegram's men, 
and still later Mahone's Division arrived, and the Federals were 
driven back with much confusion in their ranks. 

General W. H. F. Lee's Division of cavalry marched, on the 
night of the fifth, forty miles in order to reach this scene of ac- 
tion, and on the sixth was engaged with the Federal cavalry es- 
corting Warren. That night, tired and hungry, they occupied 
the camps from which the infantry had moved. The weather 
had grown intensely cold. During the night snow fell, cover- 
ing the sleeping men under a white mantle. Early the next 
morning the bugle call roused them from their resting places on 
the ground, where, like occupants of so many graves in the snow, 
they threw it aside and came forth as in a resurrection. 

Very soon the order to mount was sounded, and we were in 
motion toward the enemy. I heard the order given to our regi- 
mental commander to find the enemy and charge him. The 
snow was still falling, mingled with hail, and the air was very 
cold. My company was in advance, and we moved forward, 
feeling that the blinding snow would prevent our seeing the ene- 



Recollections of the Battle of Hatchers Run 199 

my until within a few feet of them. As we descended into a 
small valley, sheltered from the wind, we came upon several 
pickets in blue mounted, who quickly dashed off and became hid- 
den from view in the falling snow. Near the brow of the hill 
beyond was a grove of pines, on the right from which we saw 
emerging and deploying a skirmish line on the left across a wide 
field. The snow had now ceased falling and we could see bet- 
ter. We pushed on rapidly to the ridge of the field, while the 
enemy's skirmishers galloped off. Before us, a hundred yards 
or so, was a long line of Federal intrenchments, from which 
came a volley, disabling a number of our men and horses. A 
bullet passed through a soldier. Ham Bispham, and another 
through Jesse Gouldman, both at my side. One gashed my right 
leg, and from another. Major Pratt's horse fell beneath him. 

I rode back, and found General W. H. F. Lee and staff at 
the edge of the pines. He expressed regret that I had been 
wounded, and our division surgeon. Dr. James S. Gilliam (no- 
ble fellow he was), dressed my wound in his own gentle and 
sympathetic way. I then made my way to the field hospital — a 
small, vacant house near the road — chosen for the purpose, and 
lay down on a blanket spread on the floor, with Bispham at my 
left and Gouldman on my right. 

I asked the surgeon as to Bispham's wound, and he said : "He 
is dead." The bullet had gone through Gouldman's breast, and 
it looked as if he must soon follow his dead comrade. We re- 
mained here in the room, and without wood. While the attend- 
ants were making some effort to secure the latter I heard a cour- 
ier ride to the door and give an order to the surgeon to put the 
wounded men in ambulances and move them farther to the rear. 

I was placed in an ambulance beside Gouldman, and two 
small mules drew us, with the driver, over the roughest of roads, 
much of the way over corduroy. Who can describe poor Gould- 
man's sufferings during that drive? The driver appeared to be 
utterly unfeeling, and again and again I had to threaten to use 
a pistol on him if he didn't stop the ambulance and save Gould- 
man, who seemed gasping as if each breath would be his last. 

Finally, we reached the bivouac of the regiment, and found 
shelter under some pine brush laid up against a pole and sloping 
downward. It served to break the force of the wind, and give 
shelter to a fire that was kept burning. Here amidst the snow. 



200 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

on the damp ground, faint from loss of blood, I saw pass away 
the last day of my active service in the Army of Northern Vir- 
ginia. 



CHAPTER XXXIII 



EXPERIENCES IN A CONFEDERATE HOSPITAL 

rpEBRUARY 8, 1865, deserves to be recorded in the calendar 
"*■ of my dark and trying days. For several hours I rode in an 
ambulance with my w^ounded leg beside Private Jesse Gouldman, 
through whose entire body a minnie ball had passed, and whose 
breathing was difficult and painful. The vehicle in which we 
rode in a reclining position was hard of plank and rough of 
springs, built with little if any regard to the comfortable trans- 
portation of wounded men. The road over which we traveled 
"Was one of the main thoroughfares leading from the south into 
Petersburg, over which during all the previous winter, artillery 
and army supply trains of wagons had been passing, and was 
consequently in desperately bad condition, with rut and mire. 
Much of it had been repaired with corduroy, which greatly in- 
creased the jolting and discomfort of riding in an ambulance 
with stout springs. 

Our team was two mules of moderate size, in very good con- 
dition, and disposed to move briskly without the stimulus of a 
whip, and despite any moderate drawing on their bfts. Our 
driver was an enlisted man, detailed from some company to 
serve in this capacity, not, certainly, because of any special apti- 
tude for it, but rather, it may be inferred, from a desire on his 
part to secure bombproof service and escape the dangers of bat- 
tle. Men of this class are generally less gentle and tender than 
those who are willing to serve on the firing line, and to shrink 
not from the hardships of the march and the fierce shock of hat- 
tle, for it is true, as Bayard Taylor appropriately said : 

The bravest are the tenderest, 
The loving are the daring. 

Our driver had no "milk of human kindness" in his breast, or 
if so, the character of his service or the wintry chill of the morn- 
ing had congealed it. 

He was disposed to let his mules push ahead over ruts and 

201 



202 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

pine poles without check or pause, despite poor Gouldman's 
groans of suffering and gaspings for breath. But for my frequent 
interposition in the latter's behalf, I am quite sure that before wc 
reached a hospital in Petersburg, the vital spark would have been 
jolted out of him, and he would have no more needed the shelter 
of a hospital or the attentions of a surgeon. 

Sometime in the afternoon we halted in front of the Confed- 
erate Hospital, the largest in the besieged city, and were as- 
signed cots on the first floor. It being impracticable to secure 
cots together, we had to occupy two widely separated from each 
other. Mine was the first on the right as we entered from the 
street and back from the door ten or twelve feet, the intervening 
space being filled by the Surgeon's office. On the side of this 
office next to my cot, and a few feet removed from it, were a 
succession of shelves such as appear in drug stores and like them 
in the large number of labeled bottles of various shapes and sizes, 
which they contained. When I stretched myself out on my 
narrow bed, with my head on its scanty pillow, I felt that I had 
never before had so good an opportunity to become familiar with 
the foreign terms and signs on apothecaries' bottles, and the sup- 
erabundant smells that usually accompany them. 

I found the hospital to which I had been admitted, was one of 
the great tobacco factories of the city, having three stories, now 
converted into three wards, each capable of accommodating two 
hundred patients, and all of them were now filled. But a little 
observation sufficed to make it plain to me that of the six hun- 
dred sick and wounded men in the building, there were those in 
every stage of convalescence and others in every stage of physi- 
cal decline and approaching dissolution. Many from horrible 
wounds were suffering intense pain, with no heart-rending 
screams, but with clinched fingers and grim writhings of face 
and heavily suppressed moans and groans that bespoke horrible 
agony. 

When the supper bell rang, I hobbled out to the dining-hall, 
passing in doing so, down a long passage between rows of cots, 
and through a door at the end of the ward, which admitted to a 
shed of the full length of the building. In this were long tables 
and benches on either side of them, and to these had come nearly, 
or quite, four score of convalescents, limping, hobbling, creeping. 
The supper was provided, it appeared, with an ever-rigid regard 



Experiences in a Confederate Hospital 203 

to the rule of permitting invalids to have only a light and sim- 
ple diet. 

That which impressed me most during this meal was not its 
poverty, scantiness and meanness, so much as the feeble motions, 
trembling limbs, wan and cadaverous appearance of those who 
partook of it. Sidney Smith tells of a corpulent person, who, 
suffering from the intensity of the heat, wished that he might 
divest himself of his flesh "and sit in his bones." Most of my 
comrades at that hospital table had nearly reached the attenuated 
state of such a wish. Their cheeks were hollow, their eyes 
sunken, their countenances dejected and forlorn, and a ghastly 
pallor appeared in their faces. A few feeble candles lit up the 
gathering darkness of the long room, cast a pale and sickly light 
on the group, and made me feel much as though I had entered 
some dim Plutonian chamber and was breaking bread (that was 
all there was to break) with pallid shades of the dead. With- 
out tarrying long, I limped back to my cot and returned no more 
to the dining shed. 

On the next morning, my wound showed signs of inflamma- 
tion, and a high fever had possession of me. The surgeon in a 
day or two began to fill the hole in my leg with raw cotton and 
saturate it with spirits of turpentine, which he assured me was 
necessary to counteract gangrene in the wound. At the time, 
morning and evening, when these applications were made, the 
pain was severe, but little so at other times. My meals were 
brought to me, and were all that my system needed, as each day 
seemed to lessen the demand for food. 

Young Gouldman's father, whom I had notified by telegraph 
of his son's wounding, had hastened to be near him, and often 
came to my cot and showed me many courtesies. The Rev. 
Thomas Hume came several times, and cheered me with sym- 
pathy and comforting prayer. A few ladies came with gracious 
and gentle ministries and offers to take me to the home of one 
of them, if the authorities would allow of it, but these visits and 
the cheer they brought were like oases in a great desert of drear- 
iness and gloom. 

Four stalwart negro men, well trained to the service, came 
every day to one or more of the wards with a stretcher, and hav- 
ing placed a dead soldier on it, bore him out for burial. They 
came several times near to the cot where I lay for men who had 



204 ^ Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

died, and gave me good opportunity to observe their method and 
to see how they would perform for me in case the issue of my 
wound called for their services. 

One of the fatal cases which occurred near me and called for 
the stretcher had an inspiring preliminary service. The dying 
soldier at a late hour of the night called for these, and some 
other negroes and they came and stood beside his cot and sang 
at his request a number of hymns. He knew that he was dying, 
and manifestly wished that from his rude couch his spirit might 
be wafted away on the wings of holy songs that he loved. While 
the sympathetic negroes were singing, their voices began to sink, 
a subduing pathos came over them, and presently the singing 
ceased. The soldier was gone. 

Another patient, a man beyond the middle of life, lay on the 
cot next to my own. He was all the while either hot with fever, 
delirious or in a comatose state. No words passed between us. 
A yellow card on his cot over his head was a sign that his death 
was deemed certain. One night far on towards the morning, I 
heard some sound as of rattling among the bottles near my cot. 
"Can it be the surgeon getting medicine?" I asked myself. "Can 
it be a nurse?" I queried. On looking, I saw my delirious com- 
rade from the adjoining cot. I sprang up and took hold of him, 
and led him back to his couch and spread the cover over him. 
What draught, if any, he had swallowed from a bottle I never 
knew. When the matron passed near me next morning, I sug- 
gested that she look a;t him. She went near his head, raised the 
cover, drew it up over his face again and then took the death 
card from its place and went her way. The four negro men 
came ere long, laid him on their stretcher and bore him away 
for burial. 

Perhaps it was the day following this incident that, looking 
up, my eye rested on that ominous yellow card placed over my 
head. It very little affected me. When Dr. Riddick, the sur- 
geon in charge, came on his morning rounds I asked him if he 
really deemed my case so serious. He replied, "Yes," and added 
that the sloughing of the wound had reached the femoral artery 
and when it sloughed again I would go. Soon afterwards, Mr. 
Gouldman came to take leave of me, saying that his son Jesse 
had sufficiently recovered to be removed, and that he would 
lieave with him for Bowling Green at one o'clock. He expressed 



Experiences in a Confederate Hospital 205 

regret that he could not secure permission to take me also. For 
an hour or so after this parting, my reflections were not of an en- 
thusiastic or joyous character. 

Shortly after the leavetaking with Mr. Gouldman, my brother 
Bob, the late Judge Beale, came to see me on his way with dis- 
patches from the field to General Lee's headquarters. A shade 
passed over his features as he saw my changed and wasted condi- 
tion, and the yellow card over my head. "You ought to get out 
of here," he said, with emphasis, and I told him of Mr. Gould- 
man's offer to take me, and the surgeon's want of authority, or 
willingness to let me go. "I'll bring you General Lee's permit 
by twelve o'clock," he answered, as he hastened out to his horse. 
It seemed scarcely possible to me that such an application, with- 
out official indorsement of any kind and without being in regular 
course, would receive the general's approval. Nevertheless, a 
few minutes before twelve o'clock, my good brother returned, 
and, with a smile, placed in my hand a leave-of-absence on cer- 
tificate of disability, signed "By order of General Lee, W. H. 
Taylor, A. A. General," and a few minutes later I entered a 
hack with the Gouldmans, and saw the door close behind me on 
the Confederate Hospital, its gloom and horrors. Very precious 
and sacred to me among the mementoes of the war has been that 
permit from General Lee, and very precious the memory of the 
brother who obtained it for me. 



T] 



CHAPTER XXXIV 

THE CLOSING WEEKS UNDER THE STARS AND BARS 

'HE ride on the train from Petersburg to Richmond and 
thence to Bowling Green was one not to be easily forgotten. 
The condition of my wounded limb and my debilitated state, 
made the trip irksome and painful. Having reached Richmond 
and found it necessary to wait till the next day for a train, Mr. 
Gouldman secured us lodgings in a vacant store room on Broad 
street where we slept on a counter. The morning following, he 
assisted us aboard a car which at the time appointed pulled out 
for Fredericksburg; and as it did so, I took my last view of the 
devoted city under the title which for four bloody years it had 
borne as the "capital of the Southern Confederacy." 

When we reached Milford Station, Mr. Gouldman's carnage 
and two daughters were there awaiting the arrival of himself 
and son. The greeting given to Jesse by the two girls, after 
their mourning for him, as it were for the dead, was touchingly 
tender and affecting. We drove to Bowling Green and alighted 
or rather were assisted, from the carriage before a spacious hotel 
of which Mr. Gouldman was the proprietor. In this building, 
we were taken to a large room on the second floor and placed 
in separate beds, one in one corner of the room, and the other 
in the opposite one. Before leaving this room, Mr. Gouldman 
informed us that his younger daughter would act as nurse for her 
brother, and the elder — Columbia by name — would act in a 
like manner for me. He also comforted me with the assurance 
that he thought he was able to play the part of a doctor for me, 
and could prepare a salve, or ointment, that would get my wound 
in a healthy state and allow it to heal. 

Finding myself in this home, and no longer breathing the im- 
pure air, and beholding the sickening scenes of a great hospital 
crowded with dying men, the transition was indescribably pleas- 
ing and inspiring. At once I began to feel better; the remedy 
applied to my suffering limb seemed just what it needed, and 
the gracious ministries and courtesies of the family hastened my 
convalescence. Dr. Andrew M. Glassell, an eminent physician 

206 



The Closing Weeks Under the Stars and Bars 207 

of the place, made us visits, and showed every disposition to pro- 
mote our recovery with his skill and kindness. 

After about three weeks spent here, I was able to leave in a 
spring-wagon for my home in Westmoreland, and to do so with 
a sense of undying gratitude to the Gouldman family for their 
unwearying care and gentle nursing. These seemed to me to 
have been as ramparts reared at a critical hour by sympathetic 
hearts and gentle hands, for my protection and escape when 
Death was close at hand and preparing to make his last fatal as- 
sault. My experiences in this home helped greatly to increase 
my already high estimate of the generous compassion of our non- 
combatants towards sick and wounded soldiers, and of the ever 
constant devotion and fidelity of Southern women, which no 
lettered bronze, no enduring granite, and no pure white marble 
can commemorate adequately. 

On reaching the vicinity of my home where the Nomini hill 
road winds down to the creek of that name, at the point where a 
ferryboat crossed it, I learned that a Federal force had landed 
at Kinsale, and that a fight was in progress between them and 
a battalion of Mosby's men under Lt. Colonel Chapman. When 
I got in view of the ferryboat, it was amid stream well filled 
with men in blue. Their appearance was at first disconcerting, 
if not dismaying, but it soon appeared that they were prisoners 
whom several men of Chapman's command were taking to Rich- 
mond. When the group left the boat and were gathered under 
guard close to me, I approached them to make some inquiries. 
The lieutenant to whom I made myself known and who was 
named Halleck, a nephew of Adjutant General H. W. Halleck, 
in the brief conversation which ensued, evinced a knowledge 
of the situation at Petersburg unfavorable to the Southern cause, 
of which I was in profound ignorance. Though disputing it 
firmly at the moment, it needed but a few weeks' events to dispel 
my illusion, and establish his correctness. 

While standing among these men, a man named Scutt with 
whom I had been intimate and shared many a fishing and hunt- 
ing trip, came down from his house on the hill near by, and 
without yet discerning that the Yankees were prisoners but sup- 
posing them to be armed and engaged in one of their predatory 
raids, approached them with words of cjord^l welcome, assuring 
them of his joy at their succjcfl* and his hopes that th^ ojyjd 



2o8 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

soon ''get the last rebel." Pres'ently, he saw me, just as the 
prisoners were marched off. To say that my presence at such a 
moment and his knowing that I heard his remarks, were em- 
barrassing to him is to state the case very mildly. 

On reaching home, it was ascertained that two companies of 
Federal cavalry, supported by a detachment of infantry, 
had after landing at Kinsale, approached to within two miles of 
the house, and then retired. Colonel Chapman having once made 
a charge on them, and skilfully disposed his men so as to threaten 
them at many points. Of these dispositions. Col. Samuel H. 
Roberts in command of the expedition reported : "At every cross- 
roads the enemy would separate, each squad taking a different 
path until our cavalry found themselves pursuing only three 
men. These were captured and sent back to the main column, 
but were retaken with a portion of their guard on the way." 
This same officer said of Chapman's command : "The rebal cav- 
^Y^y * * * were constantly hovering about our column, 
and being splendidly mounted and familiar with the roads, were 
able to avoid collision with any thing more than our advance and 
rear guard." 

It was highly to Col. Chapman's credit that he threatened and 
harassed the Federals to the extent he did, since it led their 
leader to decide to retire and afterwards to say of his men "at 
II P. M. I ordered a portion of them to re-embark." When 
it is considered that the expedition consisted of 1800 infantry 
and a detachment of three hundred men from the First New 
York Rifles conveyed by a formidable number of transports and 
having as escorts the army gunboats, Mosswood, Chamberlain, 
and Jesup, and that their purpose was to march from Kinsale 
via the Hague to Warsaw and the Rappahannock, the great 
value of the part performed by Mosby's men and the merit of 
their achievement are conspicuously apparent. 

Several vacant houses above and below Carmel Church on the 
Kinsale road, were burned by the enemy, and the vacancies in 
place of houses and ashes thus created, became the last witnesses 
of the spoliation and outrages committed by Union troops in the 
Northern Neck. 

Chapman's Partisan Rangers remained in the vicinity for a 
week or two, finding quarters in the people's homes, and their 
presence made my sleep all the founder arid sweeter. 



The Closing Weeks Under the Stars and Bars 209 

The early days of the ensuing April, witnessed my rapid re- 
covery, and as my furlough had nearly expired, my preparations 
were made to return to my place in the army. While awaiting 
the day for setting out, the distant discharge of heavy guns sa- 
luted our ears from Fortress Monroe with mighty rumblings, 
but no one near could divine the astounding cause of the firing. 
Intending to leave home on the following morning, I spent an 
afternoon at Shirland, the Garnett home, and on my way back 
met a party at the creek who said to me: "General Lee has sur- 
rendered," and seeing incredulity manifest in my face added: 
"It is certainly true, for I heard a man read aloud his farewell 
address to the army." As I stood there beside the water no 
greater surprise could have been felt if it had parted like the Red 
Sea and a channel had been opened on dry land ; no more bewild- 
ering sensation could I have felt if the earth had trembled with 
an earthquake shock and thrown me down upon its heaving 
breast. I felt for a few moments as if the sun had shot down 
from the heavens withdrawing its light in a moment as it sped, 
leaving the world in darkness. Soon after, recovering from the 
stunning shock, my religious faith came to my relief and I felt 
"God is our refuge and strength, a present help in trouble. 
Therefore will we not fear though the earth be removed, and 
though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea." 



CHAPTER XXXV 



HOW FUN FOLLOWS FIGHTING 



TT might be supposed that the soldiers of the South, who were 
-'■called to stand amidst so many terrors of battle, to contend 
against enormous odds, to subsist on half rations, and to go often 
for days without even these, and, above all, to know as so many 
did that their families — wives and children, aged parents and 
sisters — were in the enemy's lines, exposed to depredation, pil- 
lage, and insult, would wear long faces, have bowed heads, and 
be little given to laughter and mirth. Such, however, was not 
the case. Their marches were enlivened with many a joke, and 
their camps rang often with peals of merriment and outbursts 
of jovial hilarity. 

Perhaps, the serious side of their lives which at times became 
as stern as death and as solemn as the grave had a natural re- 
bound, and the pendulum of their spirits having swung far in 
one direction again swung back with a greater force. It was easy 
for a joke to be started among them, and when once started it 
passed readily from one to another, so that a thousand camp-fires 
became the scenes of its repetition and enjoyment. Our cavalry- 
men had keen eyes to discover the ludicrous side of happenings, if 
there were any to be seen, and when one of them became a good 
subject of fun and laughter, their sportive mirth was soon shared 
by a great multitude. 

The serious and the humorous were very closely united in the 
experience of soldiers; the moments and spots filled with dan- 
ger and anxiety were often filled also with amusement and laugh- 
ter. An occasion to which these facts had a striking application 
was during Stuart's ride around McClellan's lines before Rich- 
mond. In the charge led by Captain Latane, four or five men 
of the Spottsylvania company were seen by us retiring from it 
with their faces gashed and bleeding from sabre cuts, and they 
appeared to have been of the first sets of fours who met the 
shock of the Federal charge. When our company which had 
been dismounted was reformed, it was observed with what per- 
sistent care four men sought to form the last set of fours, and 

2IO 



How Fun Follows Fighting 2ii 

get as far back as possible from the danger of such sabre-wounds. 

As in our subsequent rapid march we approached Tunstall's 
station, a courier dashed past us calling out, "We're attacked in 
the rear!" Quickly the orders came: ''Halt!" "Form fours!" 
"About wheel!" "Draw sabres!" The four men who had so 
carefully arranged to be the rear set now found themselves in the 
first place of attack. They began at once to move away, saying, 
"We're in our wrong places;" but were sternly ordered to stay 
where they were. As they obeyed the order and took their 
places, a ripple of amusement passed down the line. It did not 
appear, however, that any of the four men participated in the 
fun. 

It became known very quickly that the attack which we had 
been formed to meet was not one in fact, but only the approach 
to our rear guard of twenty-five of the ad U. S. Cavalry to sur- 
render. This intelligence was pleasant to us all, but I think to 
none so much so as to the last set of fours who had been so sud- 
denly made the first. 

In a dash made by Pleasanton with 1200 men in 1862 when 
he crossed the Potomac at Shepherdstown and rapidly forced his 
way to Martinsburg, our regiment opposed his advance in the 
early morning and was directed to fall back on the Newcomer's 
Mill road. Later, we came into the Martinsburg pike when 
Pleasanton was making a safe retreat followed by the Fourth 
Virginia Cavalry. Our motions to overtake the retreating col- 
umn were as rapid as horsemen could make, and that, too, over a 
road cut at points into deep and dangerous mud holes on which 
recent rains had fallen. The tramping of many horses and the 
wheels of passing cannon had deepened these holes and worked 
the mud into the consistency of then mush. As we galloped 
through one of these lob lolly sinks, the horse of Tom Jett who 
rode near me fell and threw him at full length over his head. 
As he fell, the unpitying mud opened to receive him, and then 
closed over him, leaving only a part of his head visible. When 
he struggled up from his untidy immersion, his appearance was 
certainly "of the earth earthy." 

We had at the time a brigade under Brigadier General Jack- 
son which by way of distinction from that of "Stonewall" Jack- 
son was called the "Mudwall Brigade." Tom Jett after this 
fall might well have been dubbed a member of this last brigade, 



212 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

though I am sure neither of these commands could boast a braver 
or better soldier than he. 

In the second cavalry battle at Brandy Station when Buford's 
Federal Brigade had been forced back from the Rapidan and 
formed a junction with Kilpatrick and Gregg retiring in haste 
before Stuart from Culpeper, the combined commands prepared 
for a general charge, and we were losing no time to get in good 
order to meet them. Probably, no other encounter between reg- 
iments of Cavalry ever promised to be more general or desperate 
with the clash of sabres. As the critical moment approached, 
one of our men whom we called "Zenock" came to me leading his 
horse and stating that he could not mount him, that when he 
tried to do so the horse would tremble and shake as if he had 
the "blind staggers." He hurriedly asked what he should do, 
and w'as told to lead his horse back and get out of the way of 
the charge. Then the Federal regiments were seen approaching 
in fine order, their sabres glittering in the sunlight. We went 
forward to meet them and there ensued a short and bloody com- 
bat. In the impetuous dash of the men in blue a small body of 
them swept past our front and were captured. Squads of our 
men were directed to hasten back with these men at a gallop, 
which they did along the road that "Zenock" had taken. As I 
glanced at them, I chanced to see him leading his horse and paus- 
ing to look back at the battle. As he did so, he saw the men in 
blue galloping towards him, and not perceiving that they were 
prisoners, he leaped into his saddle and under spur dashed down 
the road. The horse with the "blind staggers" made remarkable 
speed, and I wished that all our horses in an emergency might do 
as well. 

We had a conscripted soldier named Self who long escaped 
from military service on the plea of physical disability. He was 
at length compelled to enlist and came to us with the complaint, 
however, that he was unfit for duty and that his malady pre- 
vented him from mounting a horse without first getting on a 
fence, stump, or log. His complaint was well sustained by his 
actions, since whenever the company was ordered to mount he 
would seek some elevated object to assist him in reaching the 
saddle and thus fall into line by an indirect course. 

Once he was with us on picket duty at Wilford's ford where 
the reserve occupied a little house on the wooded hillside half a 



How Fun Follows Fighting 213 

mile back from the river. In this house was an inclined plank 
on which the men who had been on the watch the previous night 
would frequently recline to make up their lost sleep by taking a 
nap. Self was one day thus occupied with his coat wrapped up 
beneath his head for a pillow and the other men of the reserve 
sitting and lounging beneath the trees when suddenly "bang! 
bang!" were heard the carbines of the sentinels at the river and 
they came at full speed pursued by a Yankee force that had 
dashed across the river. Not a moment was lost by us in making 
ready our horses and mounting. When Self, arousing from his 
nap, became conscious of the alarm, he rushed from the house 
without once thinking of his coat, and quite regardless of fence 
or log, leaped on his horse with an agility surpassed by none. 
After falling back to the summit of the hill and awaiting the 
enemy's advance we found that they had turned and gone back, 
so we re-occupied our station. When Self went to look for his 
coat he found that one of the enemy had cut every button from 
it. We afterwards often laughed at him over the manner in 
which he lost his "physical disability" and his buttons. 

Once, when the company was doing picket duty on the Hazel 
river, we were quartered in a large barn well filled with hay, 
situated amidst large open fields and only a few hundred yards 
distant from the fords. It was risky to bivouac so near the river, 
but the hay and good shelter led us to take the risk. One ford 
needing to be guarded was below the barn and another nearly 
opposite to it. 

One morning, Bill Palmer, noted as a prog, asked permission 
to cross the river at the lower ford, and to visit a house beyond 
where the units of Federal Cavalry men led him to believe some- 
thing good to eat might be found. The passport was granted 
him with all due caution to be well on the lookout against cap- 
ture. He crossed the river safely, and obtained at the house 
which he sought some choice supplies for his haversack. When 
returning, it occurred to him to take the road which led over 
the upper ford about a mile above the one which he had crossed 
in going. He did so and found that this road led down to the 
water behind intervening rocks and an embankment, thus con* 
cealing his approach until within a few feet of the water's edge. 
Having peeped over an abutting rock and seen that Ned Porter, 
the sentinel on watch at this point had not heai^d or seen his ap- 



214 ^ Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

• 
proach, but was dismounted, sitting on a rock, holding his horse 
by the rein with his head bent over on his hands, as if "he was 
lost in a deep reverie, he resolved to play a trick on him. So he 
spurred his horse into the water and called aloud ''Forward 
men; catch him, catch him." 

Porter, startled beyond measure, and feeling that a Federal 
squadron was about to seize him before he could mount, sprang 
into his saddle, and bending well over on his horse's neck, caused 
such clattering of hoofs up the hill and towards the barn as 
were never heard there before or since. The momentum ac- 
quired by his horse bore him swiftly beyond the barn, while 
we whose horses were picketed there made all possible haste to 
mount and follow him. When we were mounted, however, all 
that we could see in the direction of the ford was one lone horse- 
man, who was approaching very leisurely, and who soon became 
recognized as Palmer, whose face bore an irrepressible expression 
of amusement. 

When Porter checked his horse, he turned it around and came 
back to us, and when he saw the humor in Palmer's expression 
and manner the spirit of fight which had fled from him at the 
river side came back in force, and some of us had to interpose 
to prevent his treating Palmer as a veritable Yankee. 

Before the war had progressed very far, the growing scarcity 
of sugar led to the extensive cultivation of sorghum which served 
well to substitute molasses and syrups as also to afford sweeten- 
ing for the domestic coffee and tea commonly used in Virginia. 
The sorghum crop was abundant in the fall of 1864 and nota- 
bly so in the counties below Petersburg. Our command was at 
that time on the extreme right of General Lee's lines engaged 
in picket service, and watching against any sudden dash the 
enemy might make. The brigade camp was six or seven miles 
back from the picket line and the squadron sent by turns to guard 
it would usually make their bivouacs only a mile or so from it. 

Once, in October or November, 1 864, I was with my company 
in such a bivouac with Lieut. Benson in charge of the detail of 
twenty-four men stationed nearer the outposts. One afternoon 
a message came to me from Benson asking permission for his men 
to attend a candy stew to which they had been invited by some 
young ladies living very near where they were stationed. I sent 
the bearer back refusing the permission and instructing him to 



Hoi9 Fun Follows Fighting 215 

tell the lieutenant not by any means to incur so great a risk and 
to decline the invitation to the party. 

Afterwards I felt some misgivings as to whether my message 
would be properly delivered, or if so whether it would be strictly 
complied with, and so concluded at nightfall to ride over and in- 
vestigate. On reaching the vicinity of Benson's little camp a 
large framed-building a hundred or two yards distant, was seen 
to be aglow with lights. Every window shone brilliantly. When 
I Tode in among the horses of the pickets all was silence and 
darkness. Presently I was observed by Corporal Marmaduke 
who informed me that the four men who were to relieve those 
on duty at midnight were all that were present, and that the 
others were attending a taffy-pulling at the lighted house. I 
asked if they had carried their arms with them and was satisfied 
that only one of them had taken any and he only his pistol. 

Having gotten together the four men whose turn it was to 
relieve the four on watch, we rode down to the picket line and 
made the exchange, and I charged those newly placed on duty 
to hold their places and give no alarm if they heard firing and 
yelling in their rear; that such sounds would only mean that I 
was charging their comrades at the candy-pulling. 

With the four men relieved from the watch, I then rode back, 
informing them of the mock charge I wished to make on Benson 
and his party. They entered heartily into the project, and when 
we reached the field in which the house stood we entered it, and 
quietly approached to within two hundred yards or so of the 
building and then raising a yell and discharging our pistols 
rapidly galloped up to the yard gate. 

Within the house, there followed an instant extinguishing of 
lights, and such rushing and scampering, leaping and departing 
as were never known there before. A tall inclosure of sharp- 
ened palings surrounded the mansion, but it offered no detention 
to Benson and his party who flitted over it like startled night- 
hawks, and like them, flew towards the wooded swamp which 
bordered a neighboring creek, and there secreted themselves in 
its leafy darkness. 

1 quickly entered the house to allay the fright of the ladies and 
to explain the trick, in the latter of which I was not fully suc- 
cessful. One of the girls having recovered from her first startled 
emotions said to me "All your men didn't get out. I hid one up- 



21 6 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

stairs." With a lighted lamp she took me up the stairway and 
to a room door and pointed significantly to a screen that covered 
the fire arch. I walked to it and drew it slowly aside and there 
squeezed into his smallest possible compass was Henry Turner. 
I called to him: "Come out from there," and with the galling 
sensation that a brave man feels in yielding to capture, he arose 
to look with a strange yet glad surprise into my familiar face. I 
scarcely think I ever received a gladder expression of recognition 
than the one he gave me. 

The next thing to do was to seek and to undeceive the men 
who had rushed to the cover of the swamp. I rode down to the 
edge of the woods, standing all sombre and silent in the night 
air, save as the fire-flies lighted it and the mosquitos made muisc. 
I called aloud for Benson; then called another name. Then 
from behind a log, only a few feet from me, arose one of the 
men with laughing surprise and came out to me. Then some 
near at hand and others more deeply hidden in the swamp — 
heard the calls and came forth. As we walked backed to the 
house, I heard Bill Murphy remark with emphasis: "Never 
again will I go any where — to water my horse, to get a drink 
myself, to pray or for any other purpose — without taking my 
arms with me," and all the other men seemed to agree with him. 

There was an occurrence to be regretted growing out of this 
affair which could not be foreseen. It was reported to me the 
following morning when I called again at the home which I had 
invaded in so warlike a manner. 

A clergyman who had come from one of the lower counties 
and entered between the lines of the armies to visit a family of 
his parishioners or, kindred, had been importuned to remain and 
spend the night at a home situated very close to that at which 
the sorghum-stew was held. The good man expressed his ap- 
prehensions that it was not safe to do so, but these were allayed 
by assurances that it had been very quiet of late, so much so that 
the soldiers were even to indulge in a party that night in the 
nearest house to them. 

He consented to remain, and that night retired as usual in his 
robe de chambre. At the midnight hour he heard the yelling and 
shooting and felt sure the enemy was at hand. Without waiting 
to dress himself, he hastened down into the yard and then doubly 
assured, as he heard the galloping and pistol shots, he rushed 



How Fun Follows Fighting 217 

towards the swamp, his loose, thin garment fluttering as he ran, 
and in the gloomy solitude of the woods, he passed the dark 
hours till morning. His rotund form and the thin texture of 
his gown made him a tempting object and an easy prey to the 
mosquitoes, and it is small cause for wonder if under their piti- 
less stings he did not repeat to himself with unwonted fervor: 
"In all time of our tribulation. Good Lord deliver us!" 

When our Captain Charles C. Robinson was captured at Up- 
perville on the 22d of June, 1863, he was taken with other Con- 
federate officers captured on Lee's campaign to Gettysburg to the 
prison on Johnson's Island three miles from Sandusky, Ohio. 
The situation of the prison on an island made the prisoners more 
secure from escape and demanded a smaller force to guard them. 

The winter that followed his capture was a severe one and 
particularly in the latitude of Johnson's Island the ice formed in 
such thickness as to induce the hope that by a daring attempt on 
the part of the imprisoned Confederates they might effect their 
escape and by walking across Lake Erie on the ice might find se- 
curity in Canada. A small group of these brave officers concerted 
together and planned an attempt to escape. Robinson was of the 
number. The plan was at a certain hour on a certain night, 
with the assistance of their comrades within the walls these men 
would let themselves down from the walls and having gained the 
ground strike out boldly on the ice to the neighboring part of 
Ohio that jutted out into the lake, and if successful, to attempt 
the bolder enterprise of braving the cold in crossing Lake Erie 
on the ice. 

The night, Jan. 2d, 1864, chosen for the daring adven- 
ture proved to be one of the most intensely cold of the 
winter, and some of the escaping prisoners, after get- 
ting out from the prison and beginning their walk on the 
ice found the inclement weather such as endangered 
their faces and ears and threatened to freeze them, and they ac- 
cordingly turned back deeming their prison life less to be 
dreaded than exposure to the wintry rigors on the ice. Robinson 
and a few comrades persisted in their attempt to make good their 
escape, and having reached the farther shore, a short distance 
from Johnson's Island were able to secrete themselves until the 
following night when they walked over the Lake, and next morn- 
ing found themselves on the soil of Canada. They met with the 



21 8 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

utmost sympathy among the Canadians and found no lack of 
food or shelter. Many proofs of the sympathy of the Canadians 
were furnished them in money, clothing, hats, and boots. Cap- 
tain Robinson was particularly favored. A hat was presented to 
him half filled with money, a pair of gold spurs were given him, 
and a magnificent pair of cavalry boots. 

It was not long after the arrival of these men in Canada be- 
fore a steamer was in readiness to sail for Nassau, New Provi- 
dence. This offered a good prospect of these Confederates get- 
ting back into Dixie by means of a steamer running from Nas- 
sau to Charleston or Wilmington. They lost no time in getting 
aboard this Nassau boat, and the Canadians evinced their kind 
wishes and good will by supplying them with tickets for their 
passage. Their hopes as to the blockade boat were realized and 
in due time they reached Wilmington. 

It was with intense satisfaction that the company of Captain 
Robinson welcomed him back in the early fall of 1864. His 
first care after getting back was to present General Lee with the 
elegant gold spurs that had been given him. While he had been 
absent, a number of his trusted fellow soldiers of his company 
had been killed, and the conscription officers had forwarded other 
men as conscripts to take their places. 

But a few days after our Captain's arrival and while he was 
yet making himself acquainted with the new recruits of the com- 
pany, the regiment was called out to take part in the terrific bat- 
tle of Ream's Station. In the morning of that battle as the com- 
pany moved in line to meet the enemy, it was discovered that a 
part of them had taken advantage of the excavation caused by 
making a brick kiln, and behind the kiln and embankment the 
removal of the earth had made necessary, and were ready to 
make stout opposition. The company advanced to the edge of 
the woods opposite the brick kiln. The Federal regiment who 
confronted us was a Maine regiment consolidated with the First 
District of Columbia cavalry, and armed by the ladies of the 
District with Henry rifles that could discharge sixteen shots 
without reloading. When they opened, fire on it was terrific; 
it sounded like the volley of a brigade. It quite unsettled the 
nerves of one of our recruits. He thought the time had come to 
seek shelter. A large pine tree was at hand behind which he 
could find shelter, and he got behind it, and with the view of se- 



How Fun Follows Fighting 219 

curing greater protection he assumed an humble posture, bowing 
with his head to the ground. The advance of the company had 
been through a swamp and beyond it through small bushes and 
underbrush, and Captain Robinson with his heavy boots and his 
corpulency had been delayed in ascending the hill. As he was ap- 
proaching the line of his company, now vigorously returning the 
enemy's fire, he spied the recruit skulking behind the pine tree, 
and he directed his steps with vigor toward him. The recruit 
had aimed to shield himself from danger in front but not so from 
an attack behind. Robinson soon reached within a pace of him, 
and lifting his Canadian boot, he struck the bowing man from 
behind with a kick that the brave man of the company did not 
soon forget. The startled recruit lost no time in getting into 
place in line, and afterwards when the men of the company ad- 
mired and praised the captain's fine cavalry boots, the recruit did 
not respond but was silent. 



CHAPTER XXXVI 



GENERAL W. H. F. LEE 



TT was in May, 1862, as the Confederate troops were retiring 
-■■from Fredericksburg, and McDowell's regiments with their 
glittering muskets were appearing on the Chatham hills beyond 
the river, and we were marching to Massaponax church that I 
first saw General Lee. As I watched his movement that morn- 
ing, the feeling possessed me that he was to be the colonel of our 
regiment. 

"Rooney" Lee, as he was familiarly and widely known, began 
his Confederate career as Captain of Lee's Rangers, a company 
organized largely through his personal agency, and composed of 
young men from many of the best homes and families of King 
William and King and Queen Counties and from a few others, 
more remote. Captain Lee was at the time about twenty-eight 
years of age, and had a few years previously, after finishing a col- 
legiate course and serving a brief term in the army, settled down 
into the quiet life of a Virginia planter on the large estate known 
as White House on the Pamunkey river. He was of fine stature 
and commanding and handsome appearance. Though carrying 
more weight than was suitable to the saddle and the quick move- 
ments of the cavalry service, he was, nevertheless, a good horse- 
man and an excellent judge of horses. So well and wisely, did 
he select them, that when mounted there seemed an admirable 
harmony between his own massive form and the heavy build and 
muscular power of his steed. A splendid iron grey, much of him 
nearly white, was, I believe, his favorite amongst his horses, and 
when bestride this animal, at rest or in motion, he would have 
furnished no mean subject for an artist even though his portrait 
were displayed in the same gallery with those of Stuart, Ashby, 
Hampton, and Fitz Lee. 

Captain Lee's company having been assigned to the Ninth 
Regiment of Virginia Cavalry at its formation early in 1862, he 
was, at the reorganization of the regiment in the spring follow- 
ing, elected to its colonelcy, the company officers thus expressing 
by their votes their high confidence in his capacity and efficiency 

as,o 



General W. H, F. Lee 221 

as an officer. As commander of the regiment, he began at once 
to display the alertness, watchfulness, disciplinary power, and mi- 
nute care as to details characteristic of a good military leader. 
The interests of the men and horses alike engaged his jealous 
care. The choice of a good camping ground ; the careful ar- 
rangement of his picket lines ; the inspection of the camp, the sol- 
diers' arms and . accoutrements, and the quartermaster's com- 
missary, and medical department of the regimental service, all 
received his watchful supervision. 

On removing from one encampment to a new one several miles 
distant soon after he assumed command, the writer, who was an 
orderly sergeant at the time in one of the companies, was sum- 
moned to report early one morning soon afterwards at regimen- 
tal headquarters, and Colonel Lee, with a flush on his cheek and 
fire in his eye, wished to know if two men of my company had 
not been left ill and uncared for in an outhouse near our former 
camp. I replied that I did not really know ; that the men had 
been reported as ill to the surgeon and turned over to him. The 
surgeon was then called for and was compelled to corroborate 
my statement. A few days later the regiment congratulated 
themselves on a change of surgeons. 

In the memorable ride of General Stuart around McClellan's 
army, Colonel Lee was conspicuously active ; and the principal 
sabre charges of that daring adventure were made by squadrons 
of his regiment. During the most critical hours spent within 
the enemy's lines, the command of Stuart was in the vicinity of 
Colonel Lee's home, where, by reason of his perfect knowledge 
of the county and the resident citizens, he was able to render the 
expedition most valuable service. When the Chickahominy was 
reached and it seemed of the gravest importance to the rescue of 
the command to cross it without delay, Colonal Lee was the first 
man to strip off his clothes and plunge into the muddy and swol- 
len stream. After swimming over and back again, and testing 
the depth and force of the current, he made the report which 
led to the removal of the troops two miles lower down and their 
successful crossing at that point. 

During the seven days' battle around Richmond in which the 
powers of the Southern army was so signally displayed, it is fair 
to say that there was no colonel under the Stars and Bars more 
zealous, alert, and ready for action than **Rooney" Lee. The 



222 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

• 
movements of his regiment at that time brought him to his old 
home at the White House, which was, at the time an immense 
depot of supplies for the Union army. His once fair plantation 
was in ruins, with fences destroyed, trees felled, fields trampled, 
and houses burned. At the head of his troopers, in the quiet of 
a summer evening with the enemy fled, and only a distant, ran- 
dom gun heard, he surveyed the widespread havoc and smoking 
piles with which the demon of war and desolation had covered 
the scene where, but lately, he had drunk in with his young wife 
the sweet joys of home life. 

An incident of the first Maryland campaign is recalled as 
showing the love and loyalty of his regiment toward Colonel 
Lee. Under a combined attack of infantry and cavalry at Boons- 
boro some of General Fitz Lee's regiments were compelled to re- 
treat precipitately from the town. In this retreat. Colonel Lee's 
horse fell, and other horses behind him fell also in a promiscuous 
pile in the turnpike. The colonel, bruised and dust-covered, 
extricated himself and sought escape through an adjacent field. 
Amidst the blinding dust but few men noticed the occurrence, 
and it was not until a few minutes later when the regiment was 
reforming, that it was ascertained that the colonel was missing. 
Gallant Captain Tom Haynes, of Lee's old company, then asked 
permission to lead a band of volunteers back and rescue their 
colonel. The men responded with alacrity, and in approaching 
the field where Colonel Lee was last seen, they learned from an 
escaping Confederate that he had made good his retreat to the 
woods. 

In the movements of General Hooker's army, which precipi- 
tated the bloody battles of Chancellorsville and Salem Church, 
the Federal cavalry in two main divisions were sent under Stone- 
man and Averill to break up the Confederate's railroad commun- 
ications. Stoneman having succeeded in crossing the Rapidan, 
moved on Louisa Court House, whilst Averill with over 4,000 
cavalry and artillery undertook to reach Gordonsville and Char- 
lottesville. General W. H. F. Lee, with his brigade of between 
1,500 and 1,600 men was sent to oppose Averill. This he did 
at the Rapidan where the railway crosses it below Orange Court 
House. So judicious were his dispositions of his men, and so 
bold his opposition, that Averill retired without getting a man 
over the river. Withdrawing his command and moving rapidly, 



General W. H. F. Lee 223 

Lee made a sudden descent on one of Stoneman's regiments, en- 
gaged in tearing up the railroad near Trevillians' Station, and 
drove them back after making a large capture of prisoners. 
Learning at this point that a part of Stoneman's force had been 
dispatched to James river to destroy the canal, General Lee at 
once headed his column in that direction, and, after marching 
seventy-five miles in twenty hours, attacked the enemy's outpost 
and made valuable captures of both men and officers, besides in- 
flicting considerable loss from casualties. Their operations over- 
shadowed as they were by the glorious deeds at Chancellorsville, 
were, nevertheless, from first to last eloquent testimonials to the 
vigilance, boldness, and tireless energy of the brigade commander 
who personally directed them. 

In the battle of Brandy Station on June 9, 1863, in which 
more horsemen were engaged than on any other field of the Civil 
War, General Lee occupied, with a portion of his brigade dis- 
mounted, the crest of a hill which seemed a key to the battle 
ground and which it was deemed of the utmost importance to 
hold. This crest was pretty well covered with low sassafras 
bushes, and flanked on the side next to the enemy by a stout stone 
fence. A sudden and concerted charge by the Federal horse- 
men overran our dismounted line, and gained the commanding 
summit. General Lee directed in person the counter-charge, and 
as his mounted men swept over the hill and were checked by the 
stone fence, a bullet passed through his leg, in the moment of 
victory. Directing a soldier to notify the next officer in com- 
mand that he was wounded, after passing his sword over to an 
orderly, he was assisted from the field. It was during his help- 
less confinement from this wound, at the residence of General 
Wickham in Hanover county, that an expedition of the enemy 
from the White House captured him and bore him off a prisoner. 

General Lee's coolness and courage were of a high order, and 
his presence in battle was an inspiration to the bravery and con- 
stancy of his men. His troopers felt that in him they had a cau- 
tious leader, who never would expose them needlessly, or lead 
them in a reckless exploit ; but that where real fighting was neces- 
sary, like Lord Nelson, he expected every man to do his duty. 

He regarded his men with affectionate pride, and failed not to 
evince his appreciation where their good conduct deserved it. 
A slight incident that occurred in the winter of 1864-65 at Bel- 



224 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

field Station will help to illustrafe the interest he felt in his old 
regiment.. A tournament was in progress near the camp of the 
Ninth Regiment, and Generals Lee, Hampton, and other promi- 
nent officers were present to witness the tilting. The charge 
to the knights was delivered by A. B. Dunaway, now an honored 
and able minister of the Gospel in Virginia, and as Hampton 
listened to his eloquent sentences he inquired of General Lee who 
that gifted speaker was, and the general replied : "O, he is only 
a private in my old regiment." 

If, as has been claimed, the cavalry is the eyes of an army, the 
Army of Northern Virginia was never impaired in its sight by 
William H. F. Lee. He was ever on the alert and watched with 
a sleepless vigilance. The writer recalls a dark, rainy night on 
the picket line during the last month spent below Petersburg, 
when, suddenly at the midnight hour, the tramp of horses was 
heard, and the visitors were found to be General Lee, an aide, 
and an orderly, wrapped in rubber coats, inspecting the line to 
see that a sharp outlook was observed. His command never was 
taken unawares. 

It was among the numerous engagements that took place on 
this line in the autumn of 1864, that the report became circu- 
lated by the enemy that General Lee had been killed. It is in- 
teresting to note how the rumor was caught up by the Federal 
officers, and put into the reports and dispatches of colonels, bri- 
gade, division, and corps commanders, and forwarded to Wash- 
ington by the commander-in-chief of the Army of the Potomac. 
Thus, did Lee's brave foemen congratulate themselves over his 
reputed loss, and thus show the weight they attached to his stain- 
less sword. 

It was no small testimony to General Lee as a good division 
commander that at the opening of the brief campaign of 1865 
his regiments were generally as strong numerically, as well, 
equipped and as eager for the fray as at any previous time in 
their histor}^ It is not easy to determine by reference to Confed- 
erate time-pieces in use at Appomattox by what part of the line 
in gray the last shots were fired on that fateful field ; nor is the 
inquiry of much importance. Many survivors of the surrender 
however, who were in a good position to observe, believe that 
the last order to charge on that eventful morning was made by 
**Rooney" Lee, and that the last sounds heard were the pistoV 



General W. H. F. Lee 225 

shots of his men. Among the first of Virginia's sons to greet the 
Southern standard with the offer of his sword, his manly form 
stood among the last beside its grave. 



CHAPTER XXXVII 

A NARROW ESCAPE FROM THE SQUADRON WHICH WAS ON THE 

TRACK OF THE ASSASSIN BOOTH AND SUCCEEDED IN HIS 

CAPTURE AND DEATH 

rN a previous chapter of this narrative, mention is made of 
*^how the author, when suffering from a wound, and confined 
in a hospital in Petersburg, obtained a permit from General 
Lee, to leave the hospital for thirty days on a surgeon's certifi- 
cate of disability, and was taken to the house of Henry Gould- 
man, who kept a hotel in Bowling Green. There he was tender- 
ly nursed, and from the day of his arrival became convalescent. 
Mr. Gouldman's son was at the same time suffering from a 
wound, and occupied a room on the second floor of the hotel, 
his bed being in one corner and mine in the one opposite. About 
the seventh of April, I had so far recovered as to undertake the 
journey to my home, leaving Jesse Gouldman still disabled from 
his wound. 

I had not yet sufficiently recovered to return to the army, 
when tidings of Lee's surrender were received. Amidst the be- 
wildering confusion that ensued, it became known on April i8th, 
that the assassination of President Lincoln had taken place in 
Washington, that the assassin had escaped, and that large sums 
of money had been offered for his apprehension. It became 
known, also, that the utmost vigilance was exercised on the Po- 
tomac, from Washington to the Bay, by all the vessels of the 
Navy in those waters, to intercept the assassin and the conspira- 
tors associated with him. It was learned that bands of cavalry- 
men had been landed on Coan river, and were patrolling the 
country leading up to Fredericksburg, and distributing on their 
way the photographs of J. Wilkes Booth, an actor, who had 
been identified as the perpetrator of the assassination. 

The precise methods employed by the government in securing 
the arrest of Booth and his accomplice, may be stated on the 
language of Edward P. Dorothy, a lieutenant of the Sixteenth 
New York Cavalry, who with his regiment was stationed at the 
time in Washington. He has reported that: "About the hour of 

226 



A Narrow Escape From the Squadron 227 

4 P. M., April 24, 1865, I was seated with another officer of 
the Sixteenth New York Cavalry, an a bench in the park oppo- 
site the White House, when I received the following orders: 
'Sir, you will at once detail a reliable and discreet commissioned 
officer with twenty-five men well mounted, with three days' ra- 
tions and forage, to report at once to Colonel L. C. Baker, 
Agent of the War Department, at 221 Pennsylvania Avenue. 
Command of General C. C. Augur, J. C. Sewell, A. A. A. 
Gen'l. 

'In accordance with the foregoing order First Lieutenant Ed. 
P. Dorothy is hereby detailed for the duty, and will report at 
once to Colonel Baker — N. B. Switzer, Colonel 16 N. Y. Cav- 
alry.' 

"I proceeded to the barracks, and in less than half an hour 
had reported to Colonel Baker. I took the first twenty-five 
men in the saddle, Sergeant Boston Corbett being the only mem- 
ber of my own company. Baker handed me photographs of the 
assassin of President Lincoln. 

"I proceeded down to Sixth street wharf, where I found the 
steamer John S. Ide, and directed Captain Wilson to move down 
to Acquia Creek and to Belle Plain. 

"After the detachment had landed, I directed the captain of 
the boat to move olf to a place of safe anchorage, and await my 
return. Should I not return before six P. M. on the twenty- 
sixth, to go back to Washington and report to Captain Allan, 
assistant quartermaster. 

"I proceeded directly south until I struck the main road to 
Fredericksburg. Here I halted at four A. M. A negro in- 
formed me that a regiment of cavalry had passed to Fredericks- 
burg the previous evening, going along on the north side of the 
Rappahannock river. I then determined to push down and go 
up on the south side where no troops had been. 

"The detectives (E. J. Conger and L. B. Baker) asked for a 
detail of four men and a sergeant, to scour the country, while I 
and the rest of our men continued on towards the Rappahannock. 
The detectives returned about three P. M. without any clue to 
the whereabouts of the assassins. I went to the ferry at Port 
Conway and saw Mrs. Rollins, the ferryman's wife, and another 
woman sitting on the steps of the ferryhouse. Drawing Booth's 
picture from my pocket, I showed it to them and inferred from 



228 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

their looks that Booth was not far distant. One of them said 
that Booth and Harold had been brought there in a wagon the 
evening before by a negro named Lucas, who would carry them 
no farther. While they were bargaining with her husband to 
take them to Orange Courthouse, three Confederate soldiers, 
Ruggles, Bainbridge and Jett rode up, and they entered into 
conversation. By and by they were all taken over the ferry. 
Booth was put on Ruggles's horse and they proceeded towards 
Bowling Green. 

"I at once sent the bugler to Sergeant Corbett telling him to 
mount the detachment, which I had left a mile behind, to feed, 
and to move down as quickly as possible. Mrs. Rollins went for 
her husband who was fishing, and I sent him for the scow which 
was on the other side of the river. During his absence, the com- 
mand arrived at the ferry and we were soon over the river. 
I arrested Rollins, the ferrj^man, and took him as guide to Bowl- 
ing Green. At dark, we passed the Garrett farm, not then 
dreaming the assassins were concealed there. Arriving at Bowl- 
ing Green, I surrounded Gouldman's hotel. After some hesita- 
tion, the door was opened. I inquired of her (that is Mrs. 
Gouldman) who were the male inmates of the house. She 
replied that there was only her wounded son, and I directed her 
to show me to his room, telling her that if my men were fired on, 
I should burn the building and take the inmates prisoners to 
Washington. She took me up one flight of stairs to her son's 
room, and as I entered Captain Jett sprang from his bed, half 
dressed. Her son lay on another bed wounded. Jett admitted 
his identity; drawing Mr. Stanton's proclamation from my 
pocket, I read it to him, and then said, ''I have known your 
movements for the past two or three days, and if you do not tell 
me the truth, I will hang you; but if you give me the informa- 
tion that I want, I will protect you. He was greatly excited and 
told me that he had left Booth at Garrett's house, three miles 
from Port Conway, the evening before, and that Harold had 
come to Bowling Green with him, and had returned that morn- 
ing. I had Jett's horse taken from the stable, and, placing a 
guard over him, we retraced our steps towards Garrett's. 

"It was now about midnight, and my men having been out since 
the twenty-fourth without sleep and with very little food, were 
exhausted ; those who had been left on the edge of the town had 



A Narrow Escape From the Squadron 229 

fallen asleep. I had some difficulty in arousing them ; but when 
they learned that we were on Booth's track, new life seemed to 
be infused in them. I placed Corbett in the rear, with orders to 
allow no man to fall out of line. Upon reaching Garrett's 
orchard fence, I halted and in company with Rollins and the 
detectives, took a survey of the premises. * * * Xhe gates 
in front of Garrett's house were quietly opened and in a minute 
the whole premises were surrounded. I dismounted and knocked 
loudly at the front door. Old Mr. Garrett came out. I seized 
him, and asked where the men were who were there yesterday. 
He replied that they had gone to the woods when the cavalry 
passed the previous afternoon. While I was speaking with him, 
some of them had entered the house to search it. Soon one 
of the soldiers sang out: 'O Lieutenant, I have a man here, I 
found in the corn crib.' It was young Garrett, and I demanded 
the whereabouts of the fugitives. He replied: 'In the barn.' 
Leaving a few men around the house, we proceeded in the di- 
rection of the barn, which we surrounded ; I kicked at the door 
of the barn several times without receiving a reply. Meantime, 
another son of Mr. Garrett had been captured. The barn was 
secured with a padlock and young Garrett carried the key. I 
unlocked the door and again summonded the inmates of the 
building to surrender. Booth replied: 'I may be taken by my 
friends, but not by my foes.' I said : 'If you don't come out, I'll 
burn the building.' As the corporal was picking up the hay and 
brush. Booth said, 'If you come back here, I'll put a bullet 
through you.' * * * Just at this moment, I heard a shot, 
and thought Booth had shot himself. Throwing open the door, 
I saw that the straw and hay behind Booth were on fire. He 
was half turning towards it. He had a crutch and held a car- 
bine in his hand. I rushed into the burning barn, followed by 
my men, as he was falling, and caught him under the arms and 
pulled him out of the barn. The burning building becoming too 
hot, I had him carried to the veranda of Garrett's house. Booth 
received his death shot in this manner. 

"I took a saddle blanket oi¥ my horse, and borrowing a darn- 
ing needle from Miss Garrett, sewed the body in it. The men 
found an old wagon impressed it, with the negro driver. The 
body was placed in it, and two hours' after Booth's death, I 
was on the way back to Belle Plain, where I had left the steam- 



230 A Lieutenant of Cavalry in Lee's Army 

boat. 

"I had released Rollins, and sent him ahead to have his ferry- 
boat to take us across the river. About six P. M. I reached 
the boat and found the captain preparing to return to Washing- 
ton. We reached Washington at two A. M., April 27th. I 
placed the body of Booth and the prisoner, Harold, on board 
the monitor Alontauk, after which I marched my worn-out com- 
mand up through the Navy Yard to their quarters." 

Lieutenant Dorothy also states that at the time Booth was 
shot, he had placed Sergeant Boston Corbett at a large crack in 
the side of the barn, from which the fatal shot was fired which 
took effect in the back of Booth's head about an inch below the 
spot where the shot had entered the head of Mr. Lincoln. 

The "Captain Jett," who m this narrative is described as 
having been suddenly aroused from his slumber in the hotel in 
Bowling Green and forced to conduct Lieutenant Dorothy's 
party to the hiding-place of Booth at Garrett's barn was not a 
"captain," but simply a private in the company in the Ninth Vir- 
ginia cavalry in which I served as a lieutenant. He was the 
youngest of four brothers who served in the same company. He 
received a serious wound while trying to intercept Wilson's 
Raiders below Petersburg in the fall of '64, and was taken to 
Bowling Green, where he was nursed till his recovery. A sim- 
ilar good fortune befell me when wounded in 1865, in that I was 
taken to the same home in Bowling Green, and was nursed back 
to health in the same bed which Jett had occupied. Young Jett, 
having felt the force of a "tender flame" for the youngest daugh- 
ter of Mr. Gouldman, who kept the hotel, seized the earliest op- 
portunity after the "surrender" of paying a visit to "his girl." 
It was in the pursuance of this object that he fell in with Booth 
and Harold, and on the night of the day following was summar- 
ily and suddenly roused from the bed which I had vacated scarce- 
ly a week before, and was compelled to conduct Lieutenant 
Dorothy's party to Booth's hiding place. The "Miss Garrett" 
from whom Lieutenant Dorothy borrowed the darning-needle 
with which he sewed a blanket around Booth's body prelimi- 
nary to its removal in a wagon, was Miss Kate Adaline Garrett, 
who also prepared the last dinner that Booth ever ate. She re- 
mained at the old home, and became an estimable and devoutly 
kind and charitable woman. She died on September 3, 191 7, 



A Narrow Escape From the Squadron 231 

aged seventy-four years; and was perhaps the last survivor of the 
memorable and tragic scenes connected with Booth s death ot 
which she was a witness. 



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